Hopeless Passage
by DesperateCountdown
Summary: Sasuke had always contemplated how he would meet his fate. When he returns to Konoha, he deals with an upcoming trial that will affect his life, an unfamiliar desire for true happiness, and his unspoken love for the man that he once had hated. NaruSasu.
1. The Foul Taste of Truth

**A/N: **Slightly AU. If you've read the entire series so far, you'll notice the differences. This takes place about six years after Sasuke abandoned Konoha. Also, this fic is rated M. If you are uncomfortable with yaoi, foul language, violence, and angst, I suggest you hit the back button. If not, enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto, nor am I in any way affiliated with Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

**Hopeless Passage, Part I **

"The Foul Taste Of Truth"

_Chapter Word Count: _3,752

_Chapter Rating:_** K+** {For mild language & suggestive themes}

"_If a man is alive, there is always danger that he may die."_Henry David Thoreau

* * *

Following Uchiha Sasuke, 3rd Person:

Sasuke had always contemplated how he would meet his fate.

Where would he die? Close to the village he had spent his early childhood in, the place where all of his fury and resentment and sorrow had originated in? Or would he perish far away from anywhere he had ever come to call _home_, a place that lacked any acquaintances and didn't deserve any emotional ties?

Who would deal the final blow? An enemy, or perhaps someone he knew? He had been near death numerous times; with Itachi, with Orochimaru, with Taka and Akatsuki…with Naruto. He had killed, had failed in killing, and had abandoned others, but he himself had never died. If no one had succeeded in taking his life, who would be able to? ANBU? The Fifth Hokage? Would he himself be the only one able to end his own life?

When would he breathe his last breath? What action could he or would he take that would deserve an untimely demise? No matter what scenario he managed to pull together, when the time came for death, he knew he wouldn't expect it.

He was standing outside of the gates of Konoha, waiting, feet ostensibly petrified to the dusty road beneath his sandaled feet. Bordered by foliage on both his left and his right, he could have easily dashed into safety; however, he remained in place, staring blankly at the forty-foot gate he hadn't been so close to in _years_.

There were no guard-ninjas that he could see, but even without his _sharingan _he could sense that ten individuals surrounded him; four were stationed on top of the wall, and three on each side flanked him in the forest. They were laying low. He scoffed and glared upwards, hoping that the other ninjas would just leap down and confront him.

Why was he here, anyway? There was no reason for his sudden nostalgia. He wasn't even sure why he acted on impulse to travel for miles to a nation that had no need and no tolerance for a rogue ninja. He attributed his sudden trek to his arrogance and his superiority complex, both of which he had trouble dealing with.

It sounded remarkably stupid, but a nexus, a pull, a gut feeling, or whatever the hell it was known as-

_Naruto..._

-had inexplicably drawn him back to the "passionately blood-thirsty and hypocritical" (as his brother had once sarcastically annotated) Konoha.

He had half a mind to turn on his heels and revert back to what others labeled him as-a coward. A sociopath. One who didn't care, who didn't feel.

But he did _feel._ He knew himself to be a passionate person. He knew abandonment. He knew hatred. He knew physical pain and emotional pain and guilt. He was aware of it all. It had been that way ever since he was a child.

Yet he also felt his desire for power. He knew arrogance and pride and lust for revenge on every person alive who had wronged him. He was _strong_.

Though, when the gates began to swing forward, his entire body twitched in surprise; a cold and steady anxiety began to drip down into the middle of his gut. He couldn't run now. Not after he had been seen. Not after he had been standing there for Kami-knows-how-long with a stare, he presumed, appeared utterly stupid and unbecoming on a shinobi of his stature. The urge to wretch began to consume his stomach, as well as his brain.

The ninjas that had been in the forest and up on the walls appeared in a moment, surrounding him in a loose circle. He remained in place, refusing to meet any of their faces, though they were all covered in ANBU masks, so it wouldn't have really mattered anyways.

_Sasuke had always contemplated how he would meet his fate._

He never really considered that he would probably be killed simply for being alive.

* * *

Following Tsunade-sama, 3rd Person

The setting sun slowly dragged out the shadows of the enormous walls that surrounded Konoha. It was getting late, and most of the citizens who remained on the streets were on their way home rather than on their way out.

Tsunade sighed and swiveled her chair so that her back was to the door and everything on the other side of the window was visible to her.

Her heart was heavy with a happiness that could only be described as her love for the people she had the prerogative to rule. Every day was a privilege; no matter how much paperwork she was expected to do, no matter how much debt was following her in her subconscious, and no matter how many things went wrong politically, it gladdened her that she had been elected Hokage. (Though she rarely showed her contentment with the duty.)

In a way, her accomplishment of being chosen as the first female Hokage made up for what had happened to Nawaki and Dan; they both had desperately wanted to become Hokage but died bloody deaths before they could even try to fulfill their hopes. She may not have wanted the title, at first, but now she felt adept and powerful even into her older age.

With a frown marring her deceivingly youthful features, she remembered back to seeing the corpse of her deceased brother whom she had loved so much; she remembered her utter failure at saving the love of her life. For years she had been without much thought of the disturbing past she harbored in the depths of her mind, but as of recent weeks, she seemed to beleaguer everything she did with thoughts of Nawaki and Dan and Jiraiya. As much as she hated to admit to herself, it debilitated her.

She was never able to bring up her brother to be the best shinobi he could be. She never got to witness his dreams becoming reality or accompany him on a mission. She was never able to scold him about girls or give him advice on his wedding night or see his first child.

_A baby, Nawaki. If I had ever had a child, I would have raised him as I was planning on raising you._

She was never able to express the love she had maintained for so long to Dan. She had never absolved herself of her guilt, and she knew she never would.

_You took your last breath right in front of me...I'm sorry, Dan. I tried so hard. I hope you know that._

She experienced one instance of intimacy with him—only a few nights before he had taken his last breath. She desperately wished that that night had gone 'wrong', that she would have carried his child, so that she could even share one shred of the love she held for Dan with his offspring.

_So many years ago..._

And Jiraiya, the man she had trained with for a large portion of her life, died without her by his side. Over the years, she had come to love him with such a force that she was unable to admit it without feeling foolish. He would never know that she longed to grow old with him, despite his perverted and exuberant nature. She remembered the words he had issued to her once becoming aware of Dan's death:

"_The true measure of a shinobi is not how he lives, but how he dies."_

He was the third man to reduce her to tears...and all because of death.

_Life is a cruel mistress...it has taken almost everything precious to me. _

A sudden knock on the door drew her out of her nostalgic and melancholy introspection. Though her instincts told her body to jump in surprise and quickly swivel the chair to its normal position, she remained stationary and silent. The lump that had begun to form in her throat was forced to dissipate.

She cleared her throat. "Yes?" she called out in a voice that was stronger than usual.

"Tsunade-sama, Naruto-kun is here to see you. Will you permit him entry?" Shizune's soprano voice was muffled through the wooden door. Under normal circumstances, Shizune would not have been so conscientious about a ninja meeting with Tsunade, but Naruto had arrived unannounced and flustered.

Tsunade turned around and attempted to make herself seem presentable and normal. Her hands fell to her lap after abandoning her hair.

_Foolish child, showing up at such a horrible time..._

"Thank you Shizune. Of course, let him in."

She had expected a _slam _from the doors opening so quickly and forcefully, but the sound never came. She glanced in Naruto's direction, surprised to see that his body hadn't even made it through the door yet. The expression on his face was unreadable and Tsunade became alarmed.

"Naruto?"

"Hokage-sama, I have a request." He announced quickly. _What, no '-baa-chan'? _She thought shrewdly.

Tsunade blinked. He always had requests, questions, and demands, and those never really bothered her. What irked her was that he seemed so mellow and...not himself. She brought her elbows to the edge of the table, laced her fingers together, and placed them under her chin. She stared directly into his cerulean eyes.

"I'm listening." He looked slightly taken-aback at her calm tone, but he took a deep breath and spoke.

"Well, I..." Pausing, he searched for the right words to express: "...please don't put Sasuke on trial." He looked away from his elders' eyes and his words quieted at the end of his sentence.

Tsunade sighed. "Naruto, you know I can't refrain from doing that. He betrayed Konoha."

"I know. I know he did. But I..." He ran his fingers through his unruly hair. "...I can't deal with it. Please, isn't there something you can do? He came back on his own free will, he apologized, and was satisfied with the fact that he's no longer trusted!" His words gained strength and momentum as Naruto tried to force all of his thoughts into one continuous string of lexeme. "He's okay with it, -baa-chan. He just wants to be forgiven. You can't just let the elders decide what is to become of him! They'll kill him if you give them the chance! They don't understand."

_This man in front of me..._

Tsunade could clearly see the tears being held back from his eyes. His voice was still clear and confident. "Can't you just give him house arrest for a year or two? Or have the ANBU follow him until you see fit? I could take care of him, Tsunade. I know he's done so many horrible things, but he doesn't deserve to rot in that cell any longer and he doesn't deserve any harsh punishments!"

_...is it really possible?_

"I'm begging you, just see what you can do to convince the elders." He strode over to Tsunade's desk and placed his hands gently in front of her face, palm-up. She met his eyes, confused.

_When did he become so..._

"You see my hands, right?" The question remained in the air for a few uncomfortable seconds. "These hands are _stained _with blood. I've _killed _people. I've tortured people because _you_ willed it and the country willed it. No matter how clean they look right now, they're dirty and I can never make amends for the things I've done. I'm no better than him, -baa-chan. Every other jounin and ANBU ninja in this country and every other country are the same. We're murderers. Can't you see that?"

_...humble? Even for that man's sake, he is so willing to..._

"Naruto," she interrupted, "the difference between the high-ranked ninja in the United Countries and Sasuke is that he is a valid threat to our safety, and they are not. If you think for one second that-"

"-Hokage-sama, instead of praising him for killing the man that slaughtered one of the most prominent clans in the Fire Country, you're considering putting him to death! All he ever wanted was revenge. All he did was leave for a while." The tears spilled over, and he furiously wiped them away.

_...go so far. _

"Please, -baa-chan." His tone was almost child-like, desperate and weak.

Without her realizing it, her eyes had closed, simultaneously listening and thinking. Usually, this verbose nature would have irritated her, but it seemed fitting at the moment.

"Naruto, you do know that he must be thoroughly castigated for his actions. I assume that you are fully aware of this, right? He's a rogue ninja and an S-Class criminal. You've seen dozens of them convicted in your short lifetime."

"I know, I know! I know, but I don't want to hear it. I don't want to be aware that he'll be gone forever!" He turned his head away from hers and a glower overcame his features.

She wanted to reassure him, this boy that she had let slip into her personal life. The boy whom Jiraiya mentored. She tried so hard to let the words slip from her lips: _I'll see what I can do. _

They wouldn't come. Instead, words that she knew would bite him spilled before she could stop them.

"I refuse to belabor this subject any longer, Naruto. Let it be. Give up." She trained her brown eyes on his figure.

He started to tremble, and Tsunade began to anticipate the worst. A low growl was emitted from his vocal cords and she could see that his neck was strained. Fists gripped tightly at his side, he spoke:

"What about your brother? Your lover? You didn't give up on them, did you?" He exclaimed.

She narrowed her eyes at the insubordinate young man that harbored such anger and cunning. For a few moments, she had forgotten that she had told him everything of her past.

"No, I suppose I didn't." To Naruto, her calm response held restraint, and he badgered further into the subject.

"How can you expect me to give up on Sasuke, then? I can't! I _won't_, -baa-chan." He was reduced to mumbles as he tried desperately to keep his emotions under control.

"I'm not expecting you to give up, Naruto. I'm _telling _you to give up." It pained her to say it, but there was no other way. It was not her intention to break Naruto, nor was it her intention to distort and disturb his already unsteady emotions, but he was one of the most stubborn young men she had ever encountered.

She instantly recognized the disbelief and pain that consumed Naruto's visage.

"Tsunade, I'm..."

She was expecting an apology, a sign of submission, or even a scream of indignation. Her back straightened in preparation for what was surely to come. The sliver or red light from the remaining patch of sun on the carpet disappeared and the room was consumed in a dusky darkness.

"...in love with him. I've always been in love with him."

_Naruto...you truly amaze me._

A sharp, phantom pain stabbed through her heart and sucked away the breath that she had just begun to let out. Why did this one person have to have such an effect on her? He spoke simple words that had nothing to do with her, yet it felt like they had been directed towards her. At first, she planned to ignore the words that had just been uttered from Naruto's lips, but it was impossible to abnegate his sincerity. And she realized, with shock: his demeanor reminded her of Jiraiya, his innocence of Nawaki, and his intense desire of Dan. It was overwhelming.

He stood there, waiting for a reaction, frightened but also filled with adrenaline at his virgin confession. He'd never uttered the words to anyone, and in a sudden realization, he regretted them. He reverted back to a taciturn state and his body became rigid. After a few moments, Tsunade could sense that he wanted to back away and run towards the door, away from her and away from the office and everything he had just said.

He took a step backwards, but in an instant Tsunade jumped from her chair and appeared in front of him, mere inches away from his taller body. She grasped his wrist in a wrought-iron grip.

_He has grown so much, _She couldn't help but notice. He was already a jounin, and well on his way to joining ANBU.

He didn't flinch, speak, breathe, or even attempt to retaliate. He just waited. Tsunade could deal with that, even though he was so out-of-character.

"Naruto." He didn't answer at first, but eventually let out a shaky response.

"Y-yes?"

"I understand." His breath ghosted over her cheek and she shuddered at the close proximity of their bodies. No matter how awkward this had become, she needed to finish what she had started.

"You are strong, Naruto, immensely so. It's hard for me to grasp the fact that you just broke right before my eyes, and-"

"-I didn't-"

"-listen, Naruto. Just listen to me. I heard you out, and now I'm asking you to return the favor."

He became silent. She released her grip on his wrist and he took it into his own hand, rubbing the ache away. She hadn't realized the chakra she had put into her action. She gave him a silent apology with her eyes.

"You are absolutely right. I never gave up on raising Nawaki, and never had to relinquish anything with him until he was taken right from my arms. I never gave up on Dan. I nearly died trying to save him, which was foolish. How could I have ever given up on them? I loved them both. When I heard that Jiraiya died, I couldn't stand the fact that I was finally alone. And now you..."

She gulped down the lump that formed in her throat. Naruto seemed to notice, because his shoulders slumped and leaned closer to his elder.

"...you are just as important to me as they were. It's so difficult to see you in this manner, Naruto. It hurts me. I feel like I'm giving up on you. In fact, I probably am. But you know something, Naruto? I understand your love for him."

She gasped as a slight sob wracked her frame. Naruto gathered her now smaller physique into his arms and held her as she regained a hold on her emotions. It was not an awkward embrace, nor an intimate one...it just _was._ And, as simple as it was, Tsunade was extremely appalled that she was being comforted instead of Naruto, who seemed to deserve it much more.

Tsunade pulled away from Naruto and averted her gaze to the floor. She had been defeated.

"I can give you some time with him before the hearing." Her words were hushed in a secretive manner, as if she felt that they were being spied on. Her promise wasn't enough, she knew, but it would have to suffice. It was illegal to release a prisoner as dangerous as Sasuke, but she was the Hokage. She could make her own decisions, right? Even...if it wasn't for the good of her people.

"Tsunade-baa-chan..." The thankfulness was evident in his voice and he tightened his hold on her, and she reciprocated the touch. "You'd can that for me?"

"Yes, Naruto. You're my most important person right now." She moved further away from his body and placed her hands on his shoulders. "How can I not give you this? You've opened my eyes so much over these past years."

She saw that Naruto had managed to bring forth a small smile, though it was filled with pain and understanding of what would most likely happen in the next few days. He touched the necklace that Tsunade had given him, which once belonged to the Shodai Hokage.

Tsunade turned her back on her subordinate and went to sit in her chair, suddenly emotionally and physically spent for the night.

He took her actions as an initiative to leave, so he nodded in her direction and headed towards the door.

"I'll have ANBU bring him to your apartment, Naruto." The words were plain but held confidence.

He stopped, back still facing her. "When?"

"Tonight." She said simply.

"How long?"

"I wouldn't expect more than two days, Naruto. His release _cannot_ be made public. Please keep that in mind."

He picked up his ambling pace without a reply and when he reached the door, he placed his hand on the cold knob.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama." he whispered in a light voice, but the room was empty and silent enough that it reached her ears. Tsunade closed her eyes when she heard the door _click _into place. She knew the decision to release a prisoner was not a wise one, but she also knew she could easily hold responsibility for her actions.

_Nawaki... Dan... Jiraiya...I hope you are watching this. This boy—_this man—_will surely complete what you started. Please bless him._

_

* * *

_

Following Uchiha Sasuke, 3rd Person

It was dark in his cell.

It was even darker beneath his strained eyelids, but it didn't matter.. He kept his eyes closed, mainly because he was in pain, but also because he really didn't care where he was. Both his hands and his feet were bound by thick chakra-restricting ropes. Even if he had wanted to move, he couldn't. There wasn't much more he could do than remain stationary and occasionally talk to the guards he couldn't see.

Sasuke was unsure of how long he had been sitting on the damp, cold wooden chair; he had never been good at measuring time. He had only ever felt the need to simply distinguish night from day, and without a solid answer about the elapsed time from the guards outside of his cell (he assumed it had been at least a week), he was becoming antsy and increasingly uncomfortable.

Some time before, after the gates had opened and ANBU ops had surrounded him, a woman, none other than Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage, strode towards him with sheer determination on her face. He remembered rolling his eyes at the sheer idiocy of how she carried herself like she was so goddamn important.

"Uchiha Sasuke," her loud yet icy voice came from the gates she was walking away from. "You are under arrest for treason, the murder of two former Konoha citizens, and conspiracy against Konoha."

He had forced himself to stand still, and allowed himself to be approached by men and women that he could easily overcome.

_Time for the fun to begin_, he thought.

He had smiled to himself when he was grabbed and bound.


	2. A Tear From the Dead Man's Eye Part I

**A/N:** In this chapter, Naruto & Saskue both play an important role regarding their POV's. It doesn't switch often, and there are no reminders in here to tip you off to these switches, but I thought that it would be much better if everything just flowed. The relationship that these characters have is raw and pessimistic and optimistic all at the same time (not just in this fic). Keeping this chapter a bit staccato seemed important to the meaning of this work as a whole. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Is in the first chapter.

_PLEASE REVIEW!_

* * *

**Hopeless Passage, Part II**

"A Tear From The Dead Man's Eye" _[Installment I]_

_Chapter Word Count: _6,961

_Chapter Rating_**: M **{For language, suggestive themes, and graphic homosexual romance}

"_Not all who wander are lost."_ ~J.R.R. Tolkien

* * *

Following Uzumaki Naruto & later Uchiha Sasuke, 3rd Person

His walk home was less than comforting. The cold air violently nipped his bare skin and he shivered as goosebumps rose on his neck and forearms.

_Two days._

He'd be lucky to get two full days with Sasuke, but it wasn't nearly enough time. It would never be enough. Two days wasn't enough time to create the kinds of memories he wanted to have of Sasuke. Of course he had plenty to begin with, both good and bad, but Naruto wanted so many more that it hurt his heart.

He took a deep breath as he continued to pass the bland houses on the street a few blocks from his own. Everyone, he knew, was inside, absolutely unaware of his suffering. _It isn't possible for me to hurt this badly..._

It wouldn't be the first time that the villagers were unaware to his feelings; they'd caused him pain for his entire life (or, at least, since he was cognizant). He had always been treated as an inferior being by most of the villagers who did not have the affinity for being an honorable ninja of Konoha.

Naruto didn't regret going to Tsunade, though at first he felt he would. The little time that Tsunade allowed him with Sasuke would surely bring him more pain than if he wasn't able to touch him again for the rest of his life. He knew those consequences very well, but his mind refused to be rational when it came to anything about Sasuke.

It was selfish, he knew. Desiring someone so desperately, in every way imaginable, that he was willing to stand up to the Hokage herself to get to him. It was a frightening experience, going to Tsunade, and actually talking to her and listening to words that he never thought he would hear. It may have been frightening, but it was certainly enlightening. She truly did love him as much as an elder could ever love a subordinate. And he loved her as much as a subordinate could ever love the one who had taught him so much. They were connected in a very wonderful way, even with their age difference.

Naruto continued down the dimly lit street, anticipating the arrival to his home but nervous to be there at the same time. When Sasuke was dropped off there, what would he say? What _could _he say?

"I've missed you so much, Sasuke." _No way._

"I'm so happy to see you." _Well, that's true, but he would probably punch me._

"I love you." _I'd be dragged to Hell for that one..._

Naruto was so lost in his thoughts that he barely realized that he had already passed his own house. He turned abruptly around and ran about twenty paces until he was at the door of his apartment building. Looking up, he saw his balcony. _Going up there would be easier than going through this door, up the stairs, through another door..._

He crouched and jumped with a flash of speed and a swirl of something between fear and excitement up to his balcony; his heels landed in perfect balance upon the rail, with his knees bent and one arm dangling between them, the other upon his thigh.

Straightening up and stepping off the railing, he sighed. He walked towards the door and opened it in a brisk manner. Stepping in to the wide living room, he stripped himself of his heavy jounin flak jacket and his black, long-sleeved shirt, leaving him in long, black cuffed pants and an orange wife-beater. The clothes laid littered on the floor. Toeing off his open-toe-and-heel shoes, he continued walking towards the refrigerator.

It was nearly empty, save for a jar of raspberry jam, a half-loaf of bread, and other various things that could not be brought together and made into a sufficient meal. He closed the fridge and went to search through the cupboards when he heard a sharp knock at his front door. Naruto was momentarily frozen to the spot; only when a gruff voice said _"Uzumaki Naruto? It's ANBU," _was he able to shake his head furiously and turn around at a hasty speed. He rushed as quickly as he could to the door and swung it open with a sharp twist of the handle.

The breath was nearly knocked out of his chest when he laid eyes on Sasuke. The man had his hands tied behind him with thick chakra ropes and had a look of utter indifference plastered on his pale visage.

_Sasuke..._

Though they wore their masks, Naruto could recognize the two ANBU that had accompanied Sasuke; the first was a female, Uzuki Yugao**[1]**, who often visited the memorial stone; and Yamanaka Fu**[2]**, a high-ranking ROOT ninja.

_Guess he really is considered dangerous, if ROOT is involved...  
_

Sasuke looked extremely uncomfortable with the hands that held fast to either bicep. He shifted his feet impatiently and shot a look at Naruto; it was mixed with hatred and relief. Naruto's eyes widened as he realized that he had been staring at all of them, mostly Sasuke. The ANBU remained silent. Naruto cleared his throat.

"Um...he can come in." He stepped aside to allow room for all three of them to enter. _I didn't expect them to get here so fast._

The two ANBU took initiative, nearly dragging the raven-haired man into the small hallway of Naruto's apartment. He glared at Fu, who just ignored him. Once Sasuke was fully inside the apartment, Yugao severed the chakra rope and it hissed as it disappeared into the air. They held onto Sasuke for a few moments later, so as to make sure that he would not attempt an escape and nodded to the blonde, who remained slightly dumbstruck at the situation.

_Sasuke...he's in my house..._

Fu spoke in an authoritative voice: "Keep him secure, Uzumaki-san." With that, they both disappeared from the room, leaving Naruto and Sasuke alone. Sasuke slowly turned around, trying not to cause alarm, and walked towards the door. Naruto began to panic and rushed to grab his arm, but Sasuke only pushed the hand away and continued. When he reached the door, Naruto half-expected him to run out, but instead he closed the door silently and locked the three locks that it held.

Naruto stared at Sasuke's back, trying to place the slew of emotions he was feeling. The man was dressed in long, black pants that were similar his shorts that he had worn as a younger teenager, except he was bare of any weapons. His shirt was white and baggy, and just made him look thinner and paler than he really was.

"Naruto?" he suddenly asked in a questioning tone.

"Yes?" he answered cautiously. He shifted his weight to his other leg.

"It's been a long time." An emotionless smile that Naruto was unable to see graced his hardened features.

He turned around once more, this time facing Naruto. Naruto took a hesitant step forward, his heart-beat beginning to increase without a direct reason. Sasuke was looking at him with a surprisingly soft expression, his jaw relaxed and his forehead and eyes without wrinkles.

_He's unhappy._

They both walked forward until they were but a foot away from each others' bodies. Naruto noted that he was finally taller than Sasuke, though not by much, after all of these years. He could hear Sasuke's inhalations and exhalations.

"They'll be watching us." He looked up into blue eyes that were unreadable.

"What do you mean?" The blonde cocked his head to the side in a childish manner.

"ANBU, dobe."

"Oh," Naruto breathed out. He hadn't thought about that. Of course they would be keeping a close watch; he should have known better.

"It would be better if they would just leave us alone rather than listen to every word that we say." They were silent for a few moments. Naruto's stomach clenched and he shook his head.

"I want to talk to you. About everything." Naruto said in a confident voice. Sasuke just nodded; telling the blonde everything he asked to know about was the least he could do. Naruto motioned towards the kitchen table and the two chairs that sat across from each other and raised his eyebrows in silent question.

"Are you going to go over there?" Naruto's voice started again.

"Yes," was the only reply he was given. The dark-haired man averted his eyes.

Yet Sasuke was still close and displayed no indication of moving away. Naruto swore he could feel his companion's heartbeat, could hear the occasional swallows of saliva, could smell the scent that was distinctly male...

Without thinking, he drew the raven-haired man into a gentle embrace, with one arm around the middle of his back and the other around his shoulders. Sasuke stiffened at the sudden, foreign contact, but relaxed within a few seconds and brought his arms up to twine awkwardly together behind Naruto. He hadn't been touched in such a manner for years on end. It was so easy to forget the effect of simple touches. He let out an inaudible sigh and laid his chin upon Naruto's shoulder.

"It's okay, teme."

What exactly was okay? Sasuke's forehead wrinkled in slight confusion. Was it okay that he had left Konoha? Okay that he had killed many innocent people? Okay that he had almost taken Naruto's life away from him, on more than one occasion? Okay to want to be near him, for reasons he couldn't even explain to himself?

Sasuke's feelings were strange to him. Here he was, next to the man that he had once proclaimed to hate, and despised at many different points in his life. He was holding an individual that he thought had given up all hope on him. He was being embraced by the one he had never expected to see again.

Naruto wanted to tighten his grip on Sasuke, but he restrained himself. His mind was trying to desperately persuade his body to do something stupid, and in return his body strained to ignore his brain. He wasn't supposed to be attracted to a man, he never had been...but now he was, immensely so. Even after all these years, Sasuke was all he wanted, and all he would ever desire, in a multitude of ways.

After a few minutes, Sasuke began to unwind his arms from Naruto's back and went to take a step backwards, but the hand on his back lowered, tightened on his shirt, and pulled his hips forward into another pair. He let out a gasp of surprise at the sudden movement.

"Sasuke," Naruto repeated and nuzzled into the addressed man's throat. His voice was barely above a whisper. Sasuke could hear the despair in his voice. For some reason, he wasn't able to move away from him. He wondered why Naruto was being so affectionate; it was starting to bother him. He wasn't used to this, and he was beginning to get uncomfortable.

Sasuke felt a shift as Naruto pulled his neck and head up away from its place on Sasuke's shoulder.

Sasuke could feel the tendons and muscles move under his hands. Then he moved too, wondering what the blonde was doing.

"I don't want to talk right now anymore. We'll get to it later."

Blue eyes, to his immediate surprise, were staring intently at him; and before he could register what was happening, a pair of lips descended upon his own, in a slow and gentle manner. Their lips barely touched, but a flutter that he wasn't able to suppress rippled through Sasuke's stomach. Naruto had successfully taken his second kiss, he realized. Naruto pulled away instants later, eyes still closed.

Sasuke, who remained silent with confusion and surprise, averted his eyes from Naruto's and inhaled a shaky sigh. He desperately wanted to and could have easily fought his way out of Naruto's hold, but for some reason his feet stayed firmly planted on the hardwood floor. The man in front of him did not slacken his grip on the back of Sasuke's shirt.

Shaking his head, Naruto finally opened his eyes and blinked. He perceived the look on Sasuke's face as one of hatred and awe, and suddenly the blonde felt guilty.

"Fuck, Sasuke. I'm sorry." He hastily withdrew himself from the comforting body and stepped backwards towards the table. Sasuke's hands fell heavily to his sides.

Sasuke, in fact, was not angry, or spiteful, but instead he was beclouded with emotions he had never encountered before. Staring at the blonde that had placed himself so far away, he realized that the touches he had been given were ones that he had needed for a very long time, ones that he wanted so desperately to hold on to until the day that he died.

No matter how much Itachi, _Akatsuki_, and _Taka_ had affected him, Naruto still held a higher place in his heart. He had experienced almost every emotion with the other male. No one else knew him like Naruto did. It frightened him, but at the same time it completely enthralled him.

"Naruto," he whispered the voice in the same tone that Naruto had spoken in. Naruto's head snapped up to attention and eyes came to rest on his face once more.

The slightly shorter man brusquely walked forward, scolded himself mentally for what he was about to do, and promptly kissed Naruto on the lips, which elicited a gasp from the latter. Immediately, Naruto straightened against the table and pushed at Sasuke's shoulders.

"What the hell are you-"

"Shut up, usuratonkachi." He kissed him again, this time with an appreciated response; Naruto brought his hands to rest on either one of Sasuke's hips and groaned in defeat. He wouldn't and couldn't ignore his body, or Sasuke for that matter.

The raven-haired man was unversed in such an action as kissing, so he tried to be cautious as he felt a tongue swipe across his lip. He remained still, pressing his lips harder to Naruto's. He felt that gentle, wet swipe again, and his mouth opened slightly on instinct. Slowly, he brought his own tongue forward to meet the one that had teased him. Naruto groaned again, and Sasuke let out a light gasp against Naruto's mouth when his hips were pulled forward in a fluid motion once again into another pair. He felt the half-hard organ that belonged to his former teammate.

It should have scared him, or angered him, but all he could do was press forward when his penis rubbed up against one of Naruto's strong hips.

Sasuke opened his mouth wider, allowing the pink organ belonging to Naruto to lightly probe and claim his mouth. When that tongue brushed up against his own, he couldn't keep back the moan that had been clawing at his throat.

The blonde, upon hearing that gorgeous noise, took a step forward and forced Sasuke to step back, still managing to keep their lips locked together. He continued walking until the older man's back met the west wall of the hallway. Naruto pressed harder into the kiss but still remained collected and delicate.

Suddenly, Naruto felt daring lips suck on his bottom lip, a tongue pressing against it, and a very noticeable, very hard erection bearing upwards against his own.

_Well, that was quick._

A pale hand trailed over his clothed stomach and dipped lower under the hem and came back up again on bare skin. Those long, calloused fingers left goosebumps in their wake.

"Sasuke, you-" he mumbled against his lips.

"Shut _up_, Naruto."

With those words, Naruto abandoned all reason, clutching the man in front of him with all of the resolve he had left to act upon. He immediately felt a strong response, a tongue finding its way through his mouth, teeth clacking against his own.

He bit Sasuke's bottom lip lightly and ground his hips into the others'-they quickly found a slow, tantalizing pace. Without relenting the intimate touches, Naruto pulled Sasuke's back a few inches off of the wall to lift his shirt off. They broke their kiss for a moment to allow the shirt to easily slide up his torso and off of his arms. Naruto threw the offending article somewhere behind him and engaged in new ministrations...

...He let one hand trail slowly to Sasuke's bottom, squeezing gently at the muscular flesh. The other tangled itself within Sasuke's raven hair, pulling it slightly to keep him in place. The pale man was not used to being controlled in the least; a growl formed within his throat and he used his strength to flip them around and pinned Naruto to the wall, with his forearms on the wall on either side of Naruto's head.

Their lips grew more insistent and Naruto moaned and tightened his grip on Sasuke's backside when said man began to suckle on his tongue. Despite Sasuke's obvious inexperience, he was a fast learner.

Naruto couldn't stand the fruitless friction of skin against fabric; he broke away from Sasuke and in moments he had shed his own wife-beater. He reached for the object of his affection and lust once more, pressing their overheated chests against one another in an increasingly desperate manner.

He may have been pinned against the wall, but Naruto knew of ways to keep control in the way that he wanted to. He gripped pale, clothed hips and rolled them into his own, this time more languidly and sensually. The forearms pressed against the wall faltered slightly as an almost inaudible gasp extracted itself from Sasuke's throat. Naruto pushed the loose pants further down on Sasuke's hips and traced lazy circles with his thumbs on the bones that were revealed to him.

The blonde hadn't gone back to Sasuke's lips; instead he placed warm, chaste kisses to Sasuke's cheek and traveled to his prominent, masculine jaw. From there, he replaced his lips with his tongue, licking upward to Sasuke's ear in a hot, wide motion. He swept over the shell of his ear and blew on the spot, which caused Sasuke to shiver and whisper,

"Naruto..."

Hearing his own name uttered in such a breathy yet virile way induced a heady, confidence-boosting effect on Naruto. He continued kissing and licking on the shell of his ear and behind it.

"Is this the first time you've been touched like this?" One of Naruto's hands came forward to cup the large bulge in Sasuke's pants; the latter let out a muffled and strangled yelp against Naruto's shoulder and pushed forward in a shallow thrust.

"No one else has kissed your lips?" He removed himself from Sasuke's neck and plunged his tongue into a very willing mouth, rubbing it against the other in a lusty way. Sasuke couldn't help but squirm against him as a firm arm tightened on his back and waist.

"Na...ru..." He groaned out against Naruto's lips and pitched his hips more forcefully against the hand on his manhood. He absolutely _hated _seeming so weak, so helpless in the arms of another man, but the touches were unlike anything he had ever felt before and his head was swimming in his thoughts and arousal.

"Or heard your voice like this?" Naruto dragged down his teeth against the side of his throat. Shivers went down both of their spines.

"_God-_-" He was quickly silenced with a pair of lips as they suckled on his bottom lip.

Sasuke had never imagined being this complacent with anyone, especially Naruto. They had hated each other for so long, and these fresh feelings were foreign, albeit confusing, but being held by the arms around him erased all of the doubtful thoughts that had ever crossed his mind. He had never foreseen that he would ever be so needy, so aroused, so comforted by another human being, much less a male, further less a male that he had tried to kill on numerous occasions.

Sasuke removed his forearms from their place on the wall and pressed his hands against Naruto's chest, splaying his fingers across broad pectorals and slowly rubbing the smooth skin. He was rewarded with a firm squeeze to his clothed manhood. The tip of Naruto's tongue lapped at his own, and the two pulled away from each other with deep breaths, eyes still closed, chests heaving with a burning ache...

"Sasuke...I...I can't..." Unable to place his words correctly, he instead unbuttoned his own pants with the hand that had been occupied with grabbing his former teammate's backside. For the first time, Sasuke looked downwards and stared at the front of his companion's pants, which sported an impressive erection. Judging from what Sasuke could see, they were probably around the same size. Maybe he himself was longer, maybe Naruto was thicker.

His hands drifted from Naruto's chest and lightly dragged his fingertips down the tensed muscles of his stomach. They instinctively flexed under the gradually intimate strokes and Sasuke watched Naruto's face as he let out a contented sigh. Skimming his hands across Naruto's sides, he brought his cheek to rest next to a scarred one.

Words that he had never expected to desire to speak rose up from his throat. He slowly uttered the words and they were soft against Naruto's ear as they ghosted from his mouth:

"You are everything to me."

How was that possible? They had been separated for years. They had fought in brutal ways, they had despised each other...

...but somehow, the words were so genuine and unmarred in their honesty that they meant more to Naruto than any amount of 'I love you's' ever could. His heart swelled in his chest as he swallowed the lump that began to manifest itself in his throat. He willed the tears that threatened to spill over away, but that didn't stop his emotions from nearly overwhelming him.

Naruto's cheeks heated as Sasuke continued his light, inexperienced touches down his tanned torso. When he reached the top of the already unbuttoned pants, he hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. Of course he had touched himself before, and he knew what to do, but even in that sense he was still inexperienced.

Naruto saved him from inevitable embarrassment and whispered, "Not here."

He motioned towards the window, which was slightly opened to allow the cool air to seep in, but they were bare of any curtains. With the lights on, ANBU operatives could easily see them there, if they were standing watch on the rooftops nearby. Grabbing a pale hand with his own, Naruto pushed himself from his position on the wall and was about to pull Sasuke in the direction of his room but he was abruptly stopped from doing so by a strong, sturdy body.

"Sasuke, come-"

"-I don't care." He interrupted with a wave of his hand.

"What?" The confusion was evident in the blonde's voice.

"I don't care if they see." V_oyeuristic, much?_

Even so, the words sent a sexual pang to his stomach and a rush of blood to his already painful erection. Groaning, he wasn't sure if it was possible to get any harder. Naruto was in disbelief. What had happened to the prude, annoying Sasuke?

Sasuke was in disbelief himself; he had been fine all of these years with being antisocial, bothered by touches...but now, all he wanted was to _be_ touched. He didn't care who knew about it or saw it or heard it, only because it was Naruto.

They stood still for long moments, staring at each others' eyes until it became unbearable, trying to figure out what was going on in each others' minds.. Sasuke came forward and placed a light kiss upon Naruto's swollen lips and brought his free hand up to cup Naruto's face.

As quickly as the kiss had started, it ended. Sasuke rested his forehead against the blonde's. Completely letting his guard down, he let out a sigh and his eyes fluttered closed. Naruto's hand tightened over his own.

"Please." The dark-haired man whispered. He wasn't exactly sure what he was pleading for, and in this case, he didn't care what he got, as long as it was from Naruto. Naruto was the only one whom he could trust.

Naruto moved forward and captured Sasuke's lips again in a sensual way. He licked his bottom lip and Sasuke, craving the sensation and the attention, opened his mouth readily and stroked his own tongue against Naruto's. They wrestled for dominance as the kiss became more insistent, instinctive, and arousing. Sasuke felt hands tightly gripping his hips and he heard a moan from Naruto as he was pulled forward into Naruto's hips once again. Sasuke rocked against him in perfect timing, though it was difficult to do while standing.

Sasuke felt his pants being pushed even further down his hips. The fabric rubbed up against his hardness and he squirmed against those thrusting hips.

Before he could even register what was happening, Sasuke was suddenly pulled towards the floor and found himself on top of Naruto's groin, his legs on either side of Naruto's torso. Though surprised, he gracefully held his position without wavering and placed his hands firmly on Naruto's bare shoulders to keep himself up.

He looked at Naruto's face briefly; his eyes were half-lidded and a flush graced his scarred cheeks, making him seem more innocent than Sasuke knew he was. He pondered what he himself looked like until he felt an erection rubbing against his own, rendering him devoid of any important thought. His head was pulled down forcefully and he was crushed into a bruising kiss; his arms collapsed to the floor from Naruto's shoulders and his torso was flush against the others'.

Naruto couldn't help but moan into the kiss as Sasuke's muscles pressed into his own. He could feel every individual abdominal muscle, lean as they were. Breaking away from the kiss he had initiated, he began to suck, hard, on the pulsing jugular on the left side of Sasuke's neck, fully intending to bring blood to the surface of the milky skin being presented to him.

Trying his hardest to keep the sounds to a minimum out of embarrassment, Sasuke clenched his teeth as he felt the rough treatment on his neck. He was so close to the other man; he could smell the scent that was exclusively Naruto, one made up of sweat and sandalwood and pheromones that made Sasuke's stomach flutter, no matter how hard he wanted to convince himself that they didn't.

He uttered a small cry when, unexpectedly, Naruto bit into the junction between his neck and his shoulder, hard enough to cause blood to slowly bubble up and seep into Naruto's mouth. A jolt that he didn't anticipate was sent straight to his groin and he involuntarily ground down onto the hardness beneath him. He moaned as that mouth continued to coax the tiny amount of blood out of the wound.

Naruto's mouth abandoned the wound he had inflicted and his kisses and nips became lighter and, if anything, became more considerate and conscious of Sasuke. He didn't necessarily mean to do what he did; it was an instinct. _Kyuubi..._

Unable to reach down past Sasuke's clavicle from his position on the ground, he trailed back up to capture Sasuke's lips. Placing one hand on the small of his back and the other on the back of his neck, he gripped Sasuke closer to him. They continued battling for dominance as their groins pressed together, still clothed. Hands moved gently to grasp Sasuke's hips and he was rolled over onto his back, Naruto nestling in between his legs.

Naruto eyed the expanse of Sasuke's skin, and he reached out to touch his sides. Sasuke shivered at the sincerity of the touch, and he found himself searching for Naruto's eyes, silently willing him to look up at him. Naruto, however, never did. He kept his head downwards and his eyes closed.

Naruto's breath hitched as Sasuke suddenly leaned forward and pushed his pants and boxers down enough to free his erection. Naruto grunted and shivered as the cool air flowing from his window in the apartment washed over his heated organ. After regaining some composure, he stood and removed his pants and boxers completely before kneeling to the ground again in between Sasuke's legs. Naruto's engorged manhood stood proudly against his stomach, hovering just above Sasuke's abdomen. Sasuke couldn't help but stare at it.

Soon Sasuke felt his own pants being removed, boxers following soon after; he was left, nude, to the eyes of Naruto, who stared at the penis just as Sasuke had stared at his.

"Sasuke..." His head dipped down over Sasuke's pectoral and he tentatively flicked his tongue over a dusky nipple. Sasuke let out a slight gasp at the strange action, his hands grasping Naruto's tensed shoulders. Naruto continued to lave the licks over the nipple, pausing every once in a while to kiss the perked flesh. Sasuke arched slightly upwards when he felt sharp teeth nip at the overly-stimulated skin.

Naruto continued on to the other nipple, dragging his tongue across Sasuke's chest and latching onto the already hard flesh.

"N-no..." Sasuke groaned and tried to push Naruto's head downwards, but the younger male refused to relinquish his hold. The raven-haired man writhed to get away from the hot mouth—his skin was too stimulated and it was beginning to get uncomfortable.

Naruto growled deep in his throat, mostly out of annoyance. He was going to mark Sasuke _everywhere_, no matter how hard Sasuke fought. He'd waited for Sasuke for years. He'd hated and loved and lusted after Sasuke for years. There was no way that he'd ever give up this chance to belong to Sasuke, and have Sasuke belong to him.

Finally he released Sasuke's abused nipple and trailed further down his milky, toned abdomen. Naruto was sure that he hadn't seen anything more attractive in his whole life. He nipped at the taut skin covering one of Sasuke's ribs and coaxed it up into his mouth, sucking it tightly in order to draw blood upwards to the surface of his skin. Sasuke breathed out shakily and pulled Naruto's hair. He bucked upwards when Naruto began to place open-mouthed kisses on his abdomen, drawing ever-closer to the heated flesh that strained to be touched.

Sasuke could already feel the tell-tale coil tightening in his lower stomach; the anticipation of doing _anything _with Naruto created such a powerful arousal that he could barely contain himself...but he was no woman. He wouldn't let himself fall to a wanton level...

...Nevertheless, he cried out softly when he felt sharp teeth nip the sensitive skin between his hipbone and his dark pubic hair. He tightened his grip on Naruto's hair, but that only made Naruto bite harder.

"Naruto..." he groaned out loud. Releasing his grip on the blonde hair, he lifted his torso up off the ground with the help of his forearms; they remained flat on the floor, his elbows crooked at the joint, and he stared at what Naruto was doing. He couldn't take the teasing; it was too much.

Naruto felt the shift but refused to look up. Instead, he chuckled against the alabaster skin and nuzzled him, breathing in the masculine scent that was exclusively _Sasuke. _The hardened flesh beside his face twitched in reaction and brushed up against his cheek. He smiled.

He brought his face in front of Sasuke's member and his eyes flashed up to meet Sasuke's. He heard a quick intake of breath from the other man and quirked an eyebrow in question.

The moment that their eyes met, Sasuke quickly realized what kind of a situation they were in. _This is wrong, _he solemnly decided. The look in Naruto's eyes was one of complete want, lust, and, if he wasn't mistaken...something more serious. Like authentic attraction. Like unfeigned affection. Like...

"Idiot..." Sasuke made a move to get up from off the floor. "God damnit..." he mumbled under his breath. He needed to be far away from Naruto, before he did something he could never take back. _Uchiha's_ never did anything they knew they would later regret.

The muscles in his thighs tensed as he started to push himself up, but firm, tan hands kept his hips securely on the floor. Those blue eyes stared at him, darkened with aching desire and disappointment. His stomach twisted in a brief moment of guilt.

"Sasuke, it's okay." His voice sounded slightly hoarse and strained. Naruto didn't feel the other relax, and he started to worry. He knew that Sasuke still intended to rise, so he tightened his grip hard enough to bruise.

"Naruto, don't-" Sasuke protested and twisted upwards, but couldn't remove those hands from his body. In terms of brute strength, Naruto had always had the upper hand; but now, after months of confinement with barely any exercise, it was even worse since Sasuke's muscles had become slightly enfeebled.

"-Sasuke, _it's okay._" Naruto pleaded with him, and his grip slackened and he took to rubbing small, gentle circles with his fingertips on Sasuke's lower back to try to calm him down.

"Idiot, it's not okay!" Sasuke growled out and looked at him skeptically, ready to jump away from his current position on the floor when the opportunity came. "We shouldn't be doing this!"

"Why not," his voice raised slightly in annoyance, "Sasuke? You said..." He looked away and huffed.

"I said what?" The dark-haired man ventured. However, Naruto remained silent and moved forward so that his lips were right beside Sasuke's ear. Naruto's breath softly puffed against Sasuke's hair.

"You said that I was everything to you." The quiet whisper of his own words against his ear surprised Sasuke, and he froze.

"I didn't mean-" He began to protest as a small bloom of panic appeared in the middle of his gut. Revealing this much of himself—his few thoughts, his change of heart, his reactions to the touch of one certain man—frightened him.

"-Don't say it, bastard. Just don't." As quickly as he spoke, he was silent and leaned down to begin kissing his way down Sasuke's chest.

Naruto's ministrations pushed back most of his coherent thoughts and he squirmed, trying weakly to get Naruto to stop. Naruto, sensing Sasuke's discomfort, gave the skin above the head of Sasuke's penis, right under his bellybutton, a few gentle licks. The area broke out in goosebumps, and Sasuke let out a throaty groan in frustration.

"Fuck you," Sasuke whispered, looking down between his legs where Naruto still remained. With just a few gentle touches, Sasuke, to his complete horror, was completely undone. He definitely cared if Naruto was afflicted by whatever endearment he held towards him,because this type of affection was truly foreign...but he didn't want anything to stop.

He finally decided that he would take anything, _anything, _from Naruto, as long as the hatred he knew they both still harbored would cease to exist. His simple moment of doubt was completely washed away for not particular reason.

_How is it possible that this man..._

"Sasuke," he breathed against his skin, bringing his face level to Sasuke's member once again. He lightly gripped the base in his left hand and and guided it closer to his mouth and let out a slight breath that ghosted over the sensitive skin.

_...has such an effect on me?_

Sasuke groaned when he felt a slow, teasing lick run from the base of his penis up to the curve underneath the head. Naruto began to lightly tongue around that area, and deliberately kept his pace achingly slow. Naruto gently dragged his tongue over the slit, tasting the tiny bead of precum there, and gave the head an open-mouthed kiss.

"Dobe," he whispered. His fingers curled against the hardwood floor.

"Hmmm?" Sasuke felt the vibrations of Naruto's wordless question on his swollen member and bit his lip, trying to keep silent, to keep Naruto from really knowing how his actions were affecting him.

His effort became utterly futile when suddenly a tight, wet, hot heat enveloped him. One of his hands shot down and gripped Naruto's messy hair in a tight hold. His legs involuntarily spread wider; his knees bent sharply so that his toes were barely touching the floor.

Naruto moved in an achingly slow fashion, coating Sasuke's member with his saliva until it was impossibly slick. He felt Sasuke writhe against him.

"Naruto..." Sasuke's grip on the blonde's hair tightened to a point where it became painful, and the raven began to force Naruto's head down. Naruto smiled at the wordless plea for more and he gripped one of Sasuke's powerful thighs and pressed it to the side, effectively spreading Sasuke wider and making it easier for him to give his full attention to the hot, throbbing member in front of him.

Once again, Naruto descended upon Sasuke; he flattened his tongue against the thick vein on the underside of his penis and fit as much of it into his mouth as he could. The few inches that his lips could not touch were not unattended to; his fist came to loosely curl around the base, and he pumped in time with the rises and falls of his mouth.

He continued his ministrations even when he felt Sasuke's legs begin to tremble continuously as the pleasure started to coil in his belly. Naruto flicked his eyes upwards for a moment to look at Sasuke; the man was biting his lips to hold his moans back, and his eyes were screwed shut.

Slowing his bobbing, Naruto released Sasuke with a low and almost silent _pop_ and started licking in long, unhurried strokes, despite the obvious protest from Sasuke. He ignored the masculine keen that managed to break itself from Sasuke's throat.

"Please," Sasuke whispered. "Naruto, please, I..." He was rendered unable to finish his sentence as Naruto quickly took his entire length into his mouth and sucked, his cheeks hollowing against his member.

Sasuke felt horribly dizzy as Naruto swallowed repeatedly against him. He was so close the edge. He could feel the pleasure that was so overwhelming that he didn't know if he wanted it to stop or keep going...and when he felt two fingertips rub slowly up against his opening, he couldn't hold back his sudden orgasm from bursting. A long, deep moan was Naruto's only warning. Sasuke kept a firm hold on Naruto's head and pushed him down as a reflex and arched forward, his hot seed shooting down Naruto's throat. He could feel Naruto gag slightly, and it should have been disgusting to him, but the fact that Naruto took all of him without making any move to pull away made it incredibly appealing.

When he finished riding out the first orgasm anyone other than himself had brought on, he released his tight hold on the mess of blonde hair and sighed in a contented voice as his body slackened. He watched as Naruto took his mouth off of his softening member. Naruto smiled at him and nuzzled the patch of dark curls between Sasuke's legs. His fingertips trailed up and down the tops of Sasuke's thighs.

"Sasuke?" He whispered into his skin.

"Yes?" Sasuke hesitated. Was Naruto still angry?

"I love you."

A long bout of silence ensued. Sasuke didn't move, save for his deep breaths, though his chest seemed to tighten painfully and, to his utter dismay, felt stinging tears begin to prick at the edges of his eyes.

_I can't believe this..._

Sasuke leaned forward and touched Naruto's cheek. The blonde looked up, surprised that he was actually being acknowledged, and his eyes met Sasuke's. The tears he saw there were enough to keep his mouth shut. He'd never seen Sasuke show so much emotion.

_What am I doing?_

Sasuke's other hand cupped the back of Naruto's head and lightly tugged him forward, the command to obey him silently flaring in his eyes. Naruto brought his body forward, following the hands that were guiding him.

Sasuke stared into Naruto's eyes.

"I know."

Their lips came together carefully and wetly. Naruto brought one arm underneath Sasuke and cradled the back of his head.

Sasuke didn't care that Naruto still tasted like his own blood and his own semen, and he didn't care that he was engaging in a taboo act with another _man; _what he cared about was the fact that the time he had with Naruto now would most likely end as his last moments in his presence. He wanted all of Naruto, for as long as he possibly could.

They finally parted from their kiss. Sasuke felt himself being lifted off of the hardwood floor, and instinctively, he wrapped his legs around Naruto's torso for leverage as Naruto stood. He had a vague idea of where they were going but he didn't care. He nudged Naruto's neck to the side and laid wet kisses along the column of it, stopping every once in a while to lazily suck the warm skin between his lips and teeth.

Naruto fumbled with the doorknob to his bedroom; Sasuke was making it very difficult for him to concentrate. When he finally got the door open, he went straight for his unmade bed and placed Sasuke on it, and climbed over him.

Naruto gave Sasuke's shoulders feather-light touches, bringing his fingertips down the wiry flesh of Sasuke's biceps. Sasuke shivered and reached up towards Naruto, wrapped his arms around his neck, and pulled him down so that they were face to face. He kissed the underside of Naruto's jaw, his lips ghosting over the warm, tanned flesh. His nose skimmed Naruto's jaw, and he shifted upwards to get closer to him.

"Love me," Sasuke whispered.

It was enough.

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**[1]: **Uzuki Yugao – An ANBU member who visits the Memorial Stone very often.

**[2]: **Yamanaka Fu – He is one of the senior ROOT members. He is from the Yamanaka clan and can use the Mind-Transfer Technique very well.


	3. A Tear From the Dead Man's Eye Part II

**A/N: **I apologize that this chapter took me so long to get out to you guys! This will not continue to be a normality. I was just extremely busy over the past few weeks, so forgive me. Expect to get the remaining chapters weekly (Or biweekly, depending on the length). Enjoy!

**A/N #2: **I promise that there will be more plot development in the next chapter. I just really needed to finish this scene.

**Disclaimer: **Is in the first chapter.

_PLEASE REVIEW!_

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**Hopeless Passage, Part III**

"A Tear From The Dead Man's Eye" _[Installment II]_

_Chapter Word Count: _3,786

_Chapter Rating_**: M **{For language, suggestive themes, and homosexual romance}

"_You're like an Indian Summer in the middle of winter." _~Katy Perry, Thinking of You

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Following Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, 3rd Person

"_Love me," Sasuke whispered._

_It was enough._

Naruto's heart swelled and he searched for Sasuke's lips, kissing his cheek and his nose and chin along the way. He sighed when they kissed, because it was different this time. It was not only lust that was driving them now; it was unbridled affection.

Their chaste kisses began to build up once again. Sasuke brought his arms around Naruto, one hand pressing into his left shoulder-blade, the other cupping his right ass-cheek. Naruto lightly ground down onto Sasuke's growing erection, barely touching the scorching, soft skin.

He became more insistent, and cupped the back of Sasuke's head with his palm so he couldn't get away. Naruto bit and pulled on Sasuke's lower lip, and then licked the hurt away. Sasuke pressed Naruto against him even harder, trying to stay in contact with every part of Naruto.

"Touch me," Naruto whimpered. He just couldn't take it any longer. He wanted Sasuke's hands all over his body.

It was enough.

Sasuke reached down in between their bodies and caressed Naruto's clenching abdomen. He lightly rubbed the taut skin at his hip, and finally he ghosted over Naruto's heated organ with his fingertips.

Naruto buried his face against Sasuke's shoulder and peppered it with kisses. Sasuke had his eyebrows furrowed, unsure of what Naruto wanted. He was anxious.

He shallowly cupped his length, and ran his palm and fingers over the entirety of it. It felt heavy in his hand, and twitched upwards into his caress.

After a few moments of indecision, Sasuke gripped the base of Naruto's length and pumped upwards. Naruto sighed heavily in approval t at the change of contact and spread his legs wider over Sasuke, giving him more access. Only after a few gentle and experimental tugs and pulls did Sasuke create a worthy rhythm. However, it was difficult to continue touching Naruto in his position.

"Get up," he whispered boldly. Sasuke leaned forward and began to push Naruto away from himself. He removed all contact from Naruto's member and the blonde moaned in protest at the loss of contact, but let himself be pushed backwards onto his back anyways.

Sasuke moved to Naruto's side and maneuvered them both so that he was spooned behind Naruto. One arm he placed underneath Naruto's neck, and the other went back to gently stroking Naruto's length.

The moment he touched Naruto again, the blonde's member twitched and he sighed out loud. Sasuke began a slow pace, gauging what kinds of touches Naruto preferred by the sounds he let out. Naruto felt impossibly heavy in Sasuke's slender hand, and all he could think about how beautiful Naruto was, and how strong and determined and annoying and wonderful he had always been.

As his stroking continued, he began to lick the back of Naruto's neck, barely ghosting his tongue against the slightly sweaty skin there. He kissed all around his hairline as he rubbed the slit of Naruto's member, smearing the precum that was dripping out much faster than before. It was warm, and sticky, and he had the urge to taste it; instead, he bent the arm underneath Naruto's head at the elbow so that his hand could touch his head. He brushed the coarse hair away from his forehead and pressed his entire head back into the crook of his own neck.

Naruto shuddered as he felt Sasuke puff heavy breaths into his ear. He gasped as Sasuke squeezed the base of his penis and thrust even harder into his fist.

"Sasuke..." he groaned into the air. He was _so_ close, and Sasuke was barely doing anything. Having Sasuke so near him was making his brain swim with incoherency.

Naruto felt that coil in his lower belly, and that frantic sensation of feeling too much but not enough. He could feel himself twitching, and he could feel Sasuke's engorged member between his ass-cheeks; he could feel the air get hotter from their breath and their body heat, and he felt the thick emotion clouding his heart. It was all to much. He only hoped that Sasuke was afflicted in similar ways.

"Naruto," Sasuke whispered.

"Yeah?" he could barely get the word out of his throat.

"Please take me," he said in a huskily wanton voice, and he promptly bit into the side of Naruto's neck.

The incredibly sultry and achingly heartbreaking mixture in the quality of his voice undid Naruto. Three more passes of Sasuke's fist over his penis and he came, arching against Sasuke's slender body, backside rubbing over Sasuke's hard, straining member. His thick substance covered Sasuke's fingers and his own lower stomach.

He relaxed against Sasuke's front and swallowed, hard, trying to calm his beating heart. He looked down through lidded eyes and watched as Sasuke removed his hand from his penis, and watched as he rubbed his essence between his fingertips.

Naruto turned around in the embrace and his eyes widened as he saw Sasuke take an experimental lick of his slick index finger. He licked the rest of his fingers lewdly, but Naruto assumed that Sasuke really had no idea what he was doing and definitely didn't have any idea what kind of effect it was having on Naruto.

Sasuke bit his lip when his fingers were clean, unsure of what to do next. He couldn't believe that he had stooped so low. He couldn't believe how Naruto was making him feel—he felt like a completely different person, divergent from his habitual self. Happy, deviant, content—these were all pleasures that he was radically unused to.

But Naruto erased all of the worries from his wayward thoughts as he kissed him softly with a smile on his lips.

"Sasuke, do you know how amazing you are?" he breathed against his mouth.

Sasuke snickered. "I'm quite aware, dobe."

Naruto pulled away and poked him in the nose, eyebrows furrowed. "Stupid Sasuke. You always have to ruin everything, don't you?"

Sasuke glowered and sighed. This pull towards Naruto confused him to no end. He didn't know what was to come from this entire ordeal—his return to Konoha, his capture, his lasting relationship with Naruto. The gods had to be watching. There was no other way. Naruto's claimed love, and Sasuke's confusion was not a judgment, not a warning, not an example, not a command—merely a situation in which neither the gods nor the humans they affected could really claim what they meant by ordaining it.

There was just no way that he and Naruto were in charge of what they were currently undergoing.

There was no way that he, normally stoic and unconcerned and apathetic, was now, after only a few hours, having paphian-filled thoughts and the warm feeling of being concupiscible. It didn't matter if he wasn't worthy to everyone in the entire world. It only mattered if he was worthy to Naruto.

And he knew that he was. So, only partly grudgingly, he accepted another kiss from Naruto that soon had his mind swimming with absolute nonsense and complete lust. He couldn't help but moan into that hot, demanding mouth. He couldn't help but want to be loved. He couldn't help but want to return affection he was receiving.

Naruto pulled Sasuke tightly to his body, winding one hand in his raven hair and the other he pressed to the small of Sasuke's back. Sasuke let his hands roam all over Naruto's body, craving the feeling of his heated skin.

Their tongues slid wetly over one another in a sensual dance; their kiss was filled with force and though Sasuke pressed forward and attempted to take control, Naruto gripped his hair tighter and held him in place, thoroughly traversing his mouth. Naruto moaned when Sasuke pressed his manhood up to his own soft penis and thrusted.

As Naruto gradually hardened, their members moved smoothly against one another. Sasuke's tip was already leaking, and as he thrusted again, the precum swiped up against the underside of Naruto's penis, hot and wet. They began a deliberately slow pace, Sasuke not wanting to orgasm too soon, and Naruto not willing have Sasuke finish too quickly.

Naruto broke the kiss and pulled away with a wet noise and lightly nipped the corner of Sasuke's mouth. He trailed chaste kisses over his cheek and the underside of his jaw; he bit at that, too, as the fingers resting on the small of Sasuke's back slowly descended towards the cleft of his backside. Sasuke jumped and let out a huff of air against Naruto's hair, but didn't protest. Instead, he closed his eyes and shifted even closer to Naruto's front.

Naruto made a deep rumbling noise in his throat as he laid open-mouthed kisses to Sasuke's neck. Sasuke was reacting so nicely and so perfectly. His index and middle finger slid lower at an impossibly slow rate, and as he finally reached Sasuke's hole, he pressed lightly against it and rubbed just as he had done when he had been attending to Sasuke with his mouth.

Sasuke shivered and pressed backwards against Naruto's fingers, which were rubbing up and down over his hole with a pressure that was not quite hard enough to break through the ring of muscle.

"Just do it," Sasuke whispered.

"Hold on a minute," Naruto replied. He unwillingly pulled himself away from Sasuke, who lowly whined in protest, and reached towards the drawer of his nightstand. He opened it and pulled out a tube of lubricant. "You couldn't have expected me to do that to you without anything."

"I don't care," Sasuke said. "Just touch me."

And Naruto obliged. He opened the cap, poured the lube over his fingers, and returned to his previous position. This time, he didn't waste a moment and pressed his fingers over Sasuke's opening once more. He liberally rubbed the lube over it and tentatively pressed his middle finger into Sasuke's passage.

The raven-haired man gasped at the intrusion. It wasn't painful, but it felt strange and his muscles clenched around it.

"Relax," Naruto cooed, and shallowly pumped his finger in and out a few times. He could feel Sasuke relax around him and he groaned in anticipation as Sasuke gripped his upper arms and kissed him, hard, on the mouth.

Sooner than he had expected to, he pushed a second finger inside of Sasuke and slowed down his pace so that he could adjust. Sasuke could definitely feel the unusual fullness now, mainly because Naruto's fingers were so thick. The blonde continued to thrust his fingers inside of Sasuke, pushing in all the way to his knuckles in search for his prostate.

Sasuke could already feel the beginnings of his orgasm. Frotting against Naruto coupled with the warming feeling of Naruto's fingers inside of him had him nearly panting. To keep himself from moaning out loud, he bit and kissed Naruto's neck. Sasuke couldn't decide whether he wanted to press backwards or forwards.

"You okay?" Naruto asked him. All he got was a shallow nod in response.

When he pressed a third finger inside of Sasuke's slick passage, the older man lightly hissed. Sasuke felt himself stretch to accommodate the thickness, and it started to burn a bit. He breathed harshly against Naruto's neck and willed himself to relax his muscles.

After a few more thrusts, however, Sasuke jolted and arched against Naruto's chest with a sharp gasp. Naruto smirked and aimed for the exact spot that he touched again. This time, Sasuke let out a soft cry and pressed himself harshly onto Naruto's probing digits. He couldn't even feel the pain anymore.

Naruto pressed on Sasuke's sweet spot again and instead of thrusting in and out kept his fingers there, rubbing up against the bundle of nerves as quickly as he could.

Sasuke panted, screwed his eyes shut tighter, and shivered as his legs tensed in pleasure and his belly broke out into butterflies. His legs felt boneless and he was sure that if he were to open his eyes, he wouldn't be able to see let alone focus on anything. The foreign pleasure was so intense and interrupted and tremendous; the sensation was just far too much for him to handle all at once.

"Naruto, stop, I'm going to-" he began, but Naruto silenced him with an open-mouthed kiss. He plunged his tongue into Sasuke's mouth and rubbed his tongue against his partner's at the same pace that his fingers were rubbing inside of him. Sasuke moaned into his mouth and sloppily kissed back, unable to fully participate.

The fingers of the hand that Naruto had tangled into Sasuke's hair moved down to one of Sasuke's shoulders and he gripped it for leverage. In one swift movement Naruto turned and knelt, hoisting Sasuke up with him as he sat on his bottom and pulled Sasuke over him. Sasuke was on his knees, hovering above Naruto's lap, and the raven-haired man tightly wound his arms around his neck in support as the blonde continued to pleasure him. Naruto brought his free hand to Sasuke's member and dragged his fingertips lightly over the underside of it, and smeared the precum on the head of his penis around.

Sasuke let out a choked noise and without warning he came; his muscles clenched continuously onto Naruto's fingers and his semen spurted out onto Naruto's chest. He rode out his orgasm and slumped heavily against Naruto's body, inhaling quick, heavy breaths.

Naruto placed slow, pecked kisses across Sasuke's collarbone and withdrew his fingers from Sasuke's tightening passage. The raven-haired man moaned at the loss and pulled back to look at Naruto's face.

The blonde was flushed bright red with exertion and excitement. He stared directly into Naruto's cerulean eyes and saw so many emotions that it made his heart flutter uneasily. Naruto seemed to sense his uncertainty because he ran his clean hand through Sasuke's hair and kissed him on the forehead.

Naruto didn't care that he was messy from Sasuke's orgasm. He didn't even feel the urge to clean himself off. He brought his hands to Sasuke's hips and pulled him towards his body a few inches. Naruto slid his member in between Sasuke's cheeks, running his length back and forth.

"Sasuke, you're so beautiful." He nuzzled against Sasuke's neck and shivered in anticipation and affection.

He continued to rut against Sasuke's backside and after about a minute he felt Sasuke start to harden again. He lifted Sasuke up a bit and reached for the tube of lubricant, poured it over his fingers, then coated his entire length with it. What was left on his fingers he used to rub over Sasuke's now dry hole.

He gripped the base of his manhood and held it against Sasuke's opening. Sasuke tried to press himself down onto it, but Naruto kept him steady with the hand on his hip, even though sweat was breaking on his brow from holding back for so long. He teasingly rubbed the head of his penis over Sasuke's hole, smearing the warm lube around.

"God, Naruto, just put it in!" he said in an exasperated voice. His lids were still heavy from his post-orgasmic elation, and his muscles were still lax, but he bit out his demand anyways. Naruto smiled at his impatience and deliberately rubbed his hardness against him once again.

"Stop it! Either do it or don't!" Naruto would have continued to tease him if he hadn't felt as if he were about to explode from the absence of their physical union.

He pushed upwards and pulled Sasuke down slowly. The head of his manhood breached past that tight ring of muscle inside of his new lover and he groaned as he abstained from slamming Sasuke down onto him. Inch by inch, he sank Sasuke's willing body onto him until Sasuke was fully seated, to the root of the thing that made him the most virile. Sasuke gasped at the pain of being completely and utterly filled, but spoke no words and made no other sound of protest.

_This is what I want._

Naruto moaned at the incredible heat enveloping him, and he couldn't help but roll his hips slightly. Sasuke remained stationary, breathing heavily and attempting to ground himself.

When he lifted his hips a fraction of an inch and then pushed back down onto Naruto's slick cock, the blonde took that as the "okay" to begin thrusting. He commenced slowly, his thrusts extremely shallow and considerate. He pulled Sasuke to him at different angles in search for that spot that he was now aware would make him completely melt.

He leaned forward and wetly licked one of his nipples to distract him. He nipped at the skin of Sasuke's pectorals and began to focus his attention on the pink nubs in front of him. He continued to lick one, completely coating it in saliva before suckling on it. Sasuke jolted against him at the sensation and let out a whimper that Naruto could barely even hear.

_I really want this._

Sasuke began to meet his thrusts, gradually getting used to the feeling of having someone inside of him. The two of them breathed raggedly; Naruto, in an effort to hold back, and Sasuke, desperately trying to concentrate on the pleasure and not the pain.

But that pain soon ebbed away almost completely as Naruto began to suck on his other nipple and he pushed down onto Naruto with more fervor and impatience.

"Sasuke, you're so tight," Naruto moaned wantonly against his chest. He gripped Sasuke's hips more securely and abandoned the attention to Sasuke's nipples, opting to concentrate on the connection between their bodies. He looked down and saw his erection disappearing over and over again into his lover's heat. It was so incredibly hot to see what he had only ever conceived in his dreams.

"Naruto..." Sasuke panted as Naruto picked up his pace. His fingers were meshed in Naruto's locks, gripping harder each time he was entered and relaxing every time Naruto pulled out during his thrusts. He let out a loud moan when Naruto pulled almost entirely out of his body and pressed back in swiftly to the hilt.

"...faster," he quietly demanded as he impaled himself onto Naruto's swollen member. The blonde obliged and significantly increased his momentum. On his fourth thrust he managed to press himself harshly against Sasuke's over-sensitized prostate.

The burst of lights behind his eyelids coupled with the exquisite pleasure he felt ripped a hoarse cry from Sasuke's throat. Naruto continued to thrust into that very spot as often as he could; he sat up straighter and spread his bent legs wider for balance and efficiency, but he could barely hold the two of them up as the velvety feel of impending satisfaction overtook his senses.

Sasuke was leaking and with every thrust upwards his length rubbed against Naruto's toned stomach; his breath caught in his throat as a particularly hard and fast thrust had him nearly sprawling on top of Naruto's shoulders. They were both shaking from the effort; their orgasms were so close but felt so far out of reach. Their bodies were covered in sweat.

Sasuke, exhausted from his position, used the location of his hands to his advantage and began to pull Naruto forwards to his body. The younger man held steady for a moment but in the end his body decided to fall with Sasuke's. He knelt and then pressed down over Sasuke, releasing his grip on his hips and resting his forearms in the bed on either side of Sasuke's head. Sasuke spread his legs wider and lifted his hips higher to fit more of Naruto inside of him.

Naruto began a brutal pace that was filled with love and lust and adoration for the man laying so perfectly beneath him. Who would have thought that his ruthless, bitingly hate-filled rival would have ever willingly agreed to do this? Or even ask for it, as it were? This newfound connection made him despise the thought of ever letting Sasuke go. Not for Tsunade, not for the good of his country, and not if Sasuke wished for it. He wasn't going to lose him again. He was not going to relinquish his hold over Uchiha Sasuke.

He was an assassin, he knew. He knew of the blood on Sasuke's hands, and the thought didn't disturb him one bit as he continued to snap his hips sharply forward. He had just as much guilt hovering over his psyche. Accusing Sasuke of something so horrid, that Naruto did for a _living_, was unimaginable.

Sasuke moaned, the long, sultry noise made staccato Naruto's unrelenting thrusts. In this position, his prostate was touched with each stroke of Naruto's manhood. He wrapped his legs around the Rasengan-user's lower back and pressed him impossibly closer to his body. Sasuke could no longer meet Naruto's thrusts into him; the pleasure he felt was built up insurmountably and he knew his climax was very near.

Their act should have been disgusting to him. He should have hated every moment. But he didn't.

_I want him._

Naruto growled into his neck as Sasuke clenched down onto his member. The bed creaked incessantly, slamming up against the wall with the force of their bodies moving together. Sasuke licked a wide stripe over Naruto's jugular.

_I need him._

Naruto's pace became erratic, his speed quickening and slowing and his force increasing and decreasing at random increments. Sasuke removed his grip on his hair and instantly moved his palms to Naruto's backside, pulling him harshly towards him. He knew there would be crescent-shaped marks. Naruto's arms began to quake, and his entire torso started to twitch slightly at the pulses of pleasure that ran through his body like electric tremors.

With a particularly dead-on jab to his prostate, Sasuke arched upwards off the bed and came, mouth slackened in a silent cry. His seed once again splashed onto Naruto's chest. With only a few more thrusts into that tight, hot heat, Naruto yelled out loud at his release and coated Sasuke's insides with his semen.

Sasuke felt the warm fluids inside of him and groaned at the unfamiliar but heady feeling of being sated and filled to the brim. He closed his eyes as Naruto collapsed on top of his body, whimpering as he clutched Naruto to him for comfort.

_I love him._

Sasuke had always contemplated how he would meet his fate.

He never even stopped to consider that Naruto would be the best thing that fate had to offer him.


	4. Voyage for the Lost Part I

**A/N: **Here you are, part 4 out of the planned 15. Oh, and just so you all know, wherever there are typos, I will fix them once this fic is completely finished. So...I hope you don't mind that I have a life. Heh.

**Disclaimer:** Is in the first chapter.

_PLEASE REVIEW!_

* * *

**Hopeless Passage, Part IV:**

"Voyage For The Lost" _[Installment I]_

_Chapter Word Count: _6,261

_Chapter Rating: _**M **{For angst, graphic homosexual romance, and AU-ness (Asuma is alive in this fic)}

"_All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream." ~_Edgar Allan Poe

* * *

Following Tsunade-sama, 3rd Person

The crowded rush of ANBU and other warrior jounin created an uncomfortable and frantic aura around the Hokage Tower. The heavy cherry-wood doors of Tsunade's office were tightly shut, and even still she could hear the heavy galloping paces of the men and women in the hallways. She could feel the stress. She could practically smell the fear permeating through the air.

Shizune was pacing back and forth, paperwork forgotten on Tsunade's desk. Her normally neat up-do was out of its tie and her hair lay frazzled on her shoulders.

"Hokage-sama, what are we supposed to _do_?" She nearly screeched. Tsunade closed her eyes and rested her chin atop her folded fingers.

"The only thing we can do is send the group to Suna." Her stomach flipped over at the statement.

"No! We simply cannot, Hokage-sama. They will _die_! You cannot send some of our most promising ninja on this mission." She countered fiercely.

"Shizune," the Hokage bit out sharply. "Might I remind you that _you_ are not the ruler of this country? I do not need you attempting to direct my decisions. If I need your advice, I will surely ask you."

She fully expected Shizune to stand down and shut her mouth, but the young woman straightened her posture considerably and bravely pointed her finger at her senior. Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"You know very well that this will be a suicide mission. Why send _him_, of all people? This is absolutely ridiculous!" She brought her arm back and pointed at the door. "There are dozens of suitable ninja that you can select right outside that door! They are more than willing to fight for Konoha."

The older woman bristled and she felt her cheeks become ruddy with anger. She stood quickly and slammed both of her hands on the table, knocking over her heavy chair during the motion. It fell to the floor with a dull _"boom"_, but neither of the women paid any mind.

"_You_ know very well that you are very much past your limits, Shizune! Do not patronize me. I'm not a stupid old woman. I am fully aware of the capabilities of all the ninja under my care." Her eyes hardened. "And I know that every one of them is willing to die for any cause. But he must go, just as the others who are needed must go. That is _final_." She felt like an old woman chiding a grandchild.

"But, Hokage-sama..." Shizune said in a voice that made her sound much younger than she really was.

"It is final, Shizune. Do not continue to argue with me." Her heartbeat was erratic with the many countering emotions that were warring inside of her chest and she took in a deep, unsteady breath. She walked around her desk to stand in front of one of her bookshelves. On the fourth shelf, which she was eye-level with, she spotted an old leather book with dark green binding. With her forefinger and her thumb she removed it from in between two other books.

She walked towards Shizune and placed the heavy book she had chosen into the hands of her subordinate. Shizune furrowed her brows and went to open the cover, but Tsunade carefully placed her hand atop of the one attempting to open it. She looked at Shizune levelly.

"I want you to listen very carefully, Shizune," she said evenly. "I need you to gather the ones that Gaara-sama asked for."

"Why me? I'm not a messenger!" She protested.

"It needs to be you. You have been a sign of comfort in Konoha for quite some time. Having other ANBU operatives show up at their houses will bring more stress into the issue than if you informed them of the situation yourself."

"I don't understand—I don't know how to tell them..." The tears began to well up in her eyes. Tsunade could see them clearly and tried not to let them affect her.

"You don't have to understand, Shizune," she said gently. "I just need you to do this for me. Morally, I cannot be the one to tell them. Be my rock, Shizune. Please. You know how much I need you."

Shizune clutched the book to her breast and gave a small smile that Tsunade knew was filled with silent pride. However, she visibly deflated a few moments later as the tears she had been trying to keep back spilled over. She looked down at the book she was holding and frowned.

"What does this book have to do with anything?" She inquired softly, unwilling to create any more conflict between herself and her elder. The stress was eating away at her well-being.

The footsteps ouside of the door had died down considerably.

"Make sure that this book arrives safely in Suna. That is all. Let the team know that no matter what, this needs to be in the hands of Kazekage as soon as possible."

"I understand, Tsunade-sama." The brown-haired woman said in a slightly defeated voice. Tsunade knew that it was taking all of her willpower not to speak up once more. It was a part of her surprisingly stubborn nature.

"Thank you, Shizune." She placed one hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"Is that all?"

"No," the blonde said as she pulled Shizune closer to herself. Shizune stiffened and prepared to back away, but Tsunade kept a strong but painless grip on her shoulder. Tsunade quickly kissed her forehead and released her. "Good luck," she said.

Shizune blinked in surprise at the affection and an uneasy smile appeared on her face.

"Why so sentimental?" She cautiously tested the waters.

"No reason," The blonde woman replied in an unconvincing voice. She turned her back on Shizune and went back to her desk, effortlessly picking up the fallen chair from the ground and placing it back in its original position. She sat back down and leaned against the back of the chair.

Shizune stared at her elder with a suspiciously sad expression, and scuffed her feet awkwardly on the floor.

"You may leave, Shizune. You know what to say. You know what to do." She knew she was being harsh, and she knew she was being a bit unreasonable. Still, being aware of her actions did not stop her from carrying them out.

After a few moments of indecision, Shizune finally turned slowly on her heels and began a hesitant pace towards the door, hopelessly waiting for Tsunade to change her mind and save her the heartbreaking task of telling people that she knew well that their lives were in danger of being lost for a cause that she knew they didn't believe in.

She removed one hand from the book and reached for the knob. As she turned it, Tsunade cleared her throat.

"Shizune," she stated. The adressed did not turn, nor did she acknowledge that Tsunade had even uttered a word, but instead continued to open the door for herself. But Tsunade knew that she was listening.

"Tell Naruto that Sasuke's trial will be pushed back until his return, after the Sukagawa Taimatsu festival."

"The fire festival?" Shizune asked.

"Yes."

"Tsunade-sama, isn't that a bit ironic? Because of Sasuke's...abilities?" She ventured carefully.

"This life will be full of unpleasant ironies. Don't take this in stride—it was not done on purpose."

Tsunade watched as Shizune nodded and closed the door behind her, leaving her alone in the now eerily quiet room.

* * *

Following Uchiha Sasuke, 3rd person

When he woke, it was dark and the air around him was stifling. He shifted to his right and found that he couldn't move far—a heavy arm was thrown about his naked waist. He huffed in annoyance and tried once more to pull away, but that arm pulled him right back to where he was.

Naruto's skin was hot against his back and it was hard for him to believe that the blonde was even remotely comfortable...but he seemed fine so he stayed put for what seemed like an entire hour before Naruto woke.

His sinewy legs stretched out behind Sasuke and he drew him even tighter against his chest, yawning loudly during the entire movement.

"'Suke?" He mumbled nearly incoherently into Sasuke's hair.

"Naruto," Sasuke curtly replied. What else was he to say?

He turned around in his arms and felt a sharp twinge in his backside. He winced and closed his eyes and then placed his hands against Naruto's chest, because they simply had nowhere else to go. He attempted to resist the pull to trace Naruto's skin with his fingertips, but a cacoethes had him under its force and he found himself rubbing lazy circles wherever he could reach. He frowned to himself as he thought, _What the hell did I do?_

Naruto rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms and reached forward to kiss Sasuke on the cheek, but Sasuke turned away. Naruto scoffed and rolled his tired eyes in frustration.

"Don't do this again, Sasuke. Please."

Sasuke didn't answer him, but remained quiet in his thoughts. He realized now that what the two of them had done was unacceptable. He didn't mind that too much; he had done many taboo things over the course of his short life. What was now eating away at his sleep-addled brain was the fact that he had been so selfish. The pain in his backside was an uncomfortable reminder of how his judgment had been wavering.

But Sasuke, as much as he was thinking about the night before, how Naruto held him, how they had kissed, how he had very nearly begged to be taken, was much more embarrassing to him than anything he could have ever imagined.

He blinked in frustration and curled his fists against Naruto's chest. He felt Naruto shift slightly away from him; Sasuke could tell that he was deeply offended but was only halfheartedly attempting to keep that a secret.

He was unsure if he would ever be able to forgive himself, and had no idea how to handle Naruto and his own unified, delusional, and emotional revelations...

_He wanted to become one with Naruto. His love was what he wanted. Naruto was what he wanted. Naruto was what he needed. Naruto was the one that he loved._

Over the course of one measly night, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, dead-last, bastard-child-turned-prodigy of Konoha had ruined his steady rationality. This pained him to no end. Where had his integrity gone? Where had his unambiguous mindset evaporated to?

What had even possessed him to return to the one person that he knew for a fact had him in his complete control? Even though Naruto was completely unaware of the fact that he was the basis for almost everything that Sasuke did, Sasuke had to live with knowing that he was not unmitigatedly in charge of his own life.

But of two things he was absolutely positive:

One, there were certain things, like his varying emotions, that he was inexorably powerless to alter. It was an impossibly tough statement to admit.

Two, he found that he felt hopelessly lost because of his inability to take command of something he simply could not.

"Naruto?" He whispered.

"Yes?" Naruto replied. Sasuke knew that he was trying fruitfully to be patient.

Sasuke gripped Naruto's previously retreated body tightly and blinked his eyes shut, hard, as he buried his face in Naruto's chest. Naruto jumped in what Sasuke assumed was surprise but he nonetheless returned the embrace and kissed the raven's forehead.

"I don't know what to do," he said honestly. It took a couple of long moments before Naruto was able to conceive an answer.

"I'm just as lost as you are."

Sasuke stayed in Naruto's protective arms until they both were overheated and uncomfortable; but Sasuke felt so...strangely wonderful that he was reluctant to leave when Naruto suggested that they shower.

"Come on," Naruto offered, "we're both pretty dirty."

Naruto was out of the bed even before Sasuke moved. The raven sat up gingerly and stood slowly; the pain in his backside was throbbing, but at least it didn't twinge every time he moved a muscle as it had earlier in the morning.

He looked down only to find that he was completely naked; he felt the blood rush to his cheeks in embarrassment and reached for the sheet on Naruto's bed. Naruto chuckled as he watched his lover wrestle with the white sheet and Sasuke glared at him.

"What?" he asked tersely.

"You're just...amusing." His blue eyes twinkled, almost as if his annoyance with Sasuke had completely disappeared. Sasuke narrowed his coal-black eyes at him. Sasuke looked the blonde up and down, frowning at his lack of clothing, and silently asking himself how it was possible for Naruto to be so care-free.

"You're the one who's fucking amusing, dobe." He wrapped the sheet three times around his waist and stood in an almost proud manner.

"You're aware that I'm just going to see you naked _again_, right?"

"Fuck you," Sasuke snapped. Naruto just laughed, and in a split-second decision, he strode over to Sasuke, picked him up bridal style, and began to walk to the bathroom.

"You have such a dirty mouth, Sasuke," he jested. But Sasuke flailed in his arms, upset and flustered at being handled in this manner. Just because he had agreed to certain things did _not_ mean that he approved of everything that Naruto assumed he could do at free will. The raven kicked and he punched Naruto's jaw; the blonde stumbled but somehow managed to keep a considerably tight hold on Sasuke.

"You asshole," Naruto said, still sounding as if he were in a good mood despite his words.

Sasuke halted his struggle almost immediately and stared at Naruto.

"What the hell is wrong with you today?"

Naruto pursed his lips in childish thought.

"I'm just...happy, Sasuke." He smiled and without warning he dumped Sasuke out of his arms and onto his feet in front of the bathroom door. Sasuke opened it quickly and attempted to close the door to prevent Naruto from coming into the fairly small room, but the blonde stuck his foot in the door and held it open.

"Naruto, just let me shower alone."

"Nope!" He joyfully said as he opened the door wide. "I know you, and you take long showers. I'm not wasting any hot water on you."

Sasuke scowled and pushed the blonde's solid body away from him, not really using his full strength because he knew that even if he did, Naruto would continue to be stubborn. And, as he had predicted, Naruto forced him backwards into the bathroom and closed the door behind him with his foot.

Naruto stared at him with a smile that oddly reminded Sasuke of a cat who had just caught a canary. But for some reason, the predatory look he was being given didn't disturb him, or bother him; instead, it sent heat to his cheeks and butterflies to his belly.

But he panicked as Naruto looked down at the sheet wound around his hips and reached towards him. Sasuke sighed uncomfortably and looked pleadingly at Naruto.

He was not afraid of Naruto, nor was he cautious of participating in any more sexual encounters, as much as he was confused about what had occurred. What he was truly wary of was his guilt of, his revelation of falling in love with someone within a blink of an eye.

Sasuke really could not believe himself.

Thankfully, Naruto seemed to take notice of his guardedness, and he scowled in frustration at being denied and bent over the tub to turn on the faucet. He folded his arms over his chest.

"Check the temperature," he said distantly.

Sasuke tentatively walked over the the running water and held his fingers underneath it; it was at an acceptable temperature and simply nodded his head in approval. So Naruto turned the knob to the showerhead and the water suddenly flowed out above them.

Naruto got in without hesitation and closed the curtain behind him. Sasuke stood awkwardly for a few moments and his hands toyed with the tie of the sheet.

He knew he had to confront this situation like an adult about this, whatever it was. Sasuke was aware that he was acting like a child who had been chided. What was Naruto going to do, start hating him? Even after all that Sasuke had done to him, he knew that Naruto would never even consider such a thing. It would be a betrayal on his part. But the pain in his chest had bloomed from guilt and uncertainty...

...but still, he untied the sheet slowly, took a breath, and opened the shower curtain. He stepped in behind to Naruto, who had his eyes closed and was just facing the flow of the water.

Sasuke gave him a furtive look and stepped forward, his foot making a wet, sliding noise on the floor of the tub. He stopped suddenly, strangely embarrassed about making the noise. But Naruto did not turn; he acted as if he hadn't even heard Sasuke enter the shower.

_Stubborn dobe._

Sasuke became angry at Naruto's petulance and felt a strong urge to just push the larger man into one of the tile walls, but he refrained from doing so, not because he wanted to avoid conflict, but because he knew it would solve nothing. Just as most of his actions solved nothing, even though they often caused an unimaginable load of remorse, strife, and anger. Instead, his eyes roved over Naruto's broad shoulders and lean, muscled back, and as he gazed upon his body, his thoughts morphed into those of warmth, admiration, and affection that he wanted to spit on himself for feeling. It was disgusting, being so infatuated with someone...but he could not properly counter his own emotions. He was oblivious and ignorant on how to ever approach such a thing.

He stepped another small step forward and hesitantly wrapped his arms around the blonde's waist. He rested his chin on Naruto's left shoulder and stood still, controlling his breathing as well as he could with his heart beating so hard against his chest.

And after a few moments, to Sasuke's relief, Naruto leaned back into his embrace and rested his hands over Sasuke's, caressing his thumbs over the top of the raven's hands.

"Sasuke," he started. Sasuke felt the deep rumble from the blonde's voice through his chest.

"Hn?"

"Why do you do this to me?"

Sasuke was silent for some time; all he wished for was to bury his face in Naruto's neck and hope to whatever god was out there that he would simply forget his question. He wracked his brain for a sufficient answer, and though his mind was quite blank, the following words rolled off of his tongue with ease:

"Because you make me weak. I hate it." The water pelted down on the both of them; where it didn't hit, Sasuke felt incredibly cold.

Naruto straightened and eased himself out of Sasuke's embrace. He turned to stare at Sasuke, who looked away, unwilling to see upset eyes boring into his very soul, as they so often did.

But Naruto reached tenderly and grasped his chin, and delicately turned Sasuke's face towards his own. His eyes, which Sasuke had fully expected to be filled with resentment mixed with remorse, were instead saturated with a calm breed of desire. Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw the corner of Naruto's mouth quirk up, and Sasuke breathed out an anxious breath as Naruto's face declined forward and the blonde's lips covered his own.

The light spray of the droplets that splashed off of Naruto's shoulders hit Sasuke's face with a tingling warmth. Naruto pressed harder on his lips, his will for reciprocation permeating into Sasuke's skin.

_I want this._

So he kissed back, knowing fully well now that there was no going back from this. There was no way he could simply disappear from Naruto's life one more time.

Naruto's lips were pliant against his own. The blonde coaxed and soothed and drew Sasuke into a lovely, halcyon caress of warm tongues.

Sasuke did not fight the urge this time to participate. He gripped one of Naruto's hips lightly and held the back of his neck with his other hand and pressed his wet body against Naruto's. In turn, the younger male lightly cradled his face in between his palms as their tongues slid sensually against one another.

_What am I doing?_

The mantra continued repeatedly through his thoughts.

Naruto swiped his tongue over Sasuke's lower lip and coaxed it between his own, lightly sucking on the pink flesh. A moan bubbled its way out of the back of Sasuke's throat as Naruto kissed the side of his mouth and attached his lips to the side of his love-bite peppered neck.

Naruto's tongue danced around the column of skin as he licked the droplets of water away. Sasuke felt warm, wet stripes being licked up his neck, and shivers tingled down his spine as Naruto pulled him impossibly close; their half-hard organs met and brushed together. Naruto's breath came out as a sigh against the raven's neck and his arms trailed down and Sasuke felt two large hands gripping both of his ass-cheeks.

_It's too soon..._

But he shut that thought out of his mind almost as quickly as it came as Naruto palmed him lightly and pulled the two globes of flesh apart, fully exposing his slightly sore hole to the hot air of the bathroom.

"Sasuke," Naruto moaned into his shoulder. Sasuke gripped Naruto's hair and pulled his head to the side, baring the tanned, corded neck. He leaned forward and gave the same treatment to him that Naruto had.

Sasuke was already feeling lightheaded as he nipped and sucked at his partner's throat. Naruto was lightly rutting up against him, and their hard erections rubbed against each other at a lackadaisical, unhurried pace.

The water slicked their bodies as their chests touched and their legs brushed; it was beginning to cool, but Sasuke was sure that he didn't care. He was positive that Naruto hadn't even noticed the temperature change.

But soon Naruto halted his thrusting and pushed Sasuke back a couple of inches and bent down to kiss across his chest. Sasuke's breath hitched as one of his nipples was completely enveloped by Naruto's heated, kiss-red lips. Naruto lightly sucked it into his mouth and toyed the hardened nub with his tongue; much too soon, he moved to the other, and nipped at it, causing it to become rosy and flushed.

Sasuke was close to complaining, but Naruto had suddenly fallen to his knees in front of him. Sasuke groaned out loud over the sound of the falling water as he watched the blonde stare at his body. And as Sasuke prepared himself for a hot, incredibly wet heat to consume his member, Naruto had gripped his thighs and had started to turn him around. Sasuke didn't budge for a moment, dazed by the thought of imminent pleasure, but quietly agreed as Naruto guided his body forward and spread his legs.

Sasuke thought, maybe, that Naruto would stand up and prepare him. Maybe he would just enter him without warning. Maybe he would just stop altogether.

But Sasuke jumped as Naruto nipped the side of one ass-cheek with care.

"Naruto, what do you think you're doing?" He turned to look down as best as he could, but didn't move away.

Naruto didn't answer. He continued his ministrations and kissed and licked his backside.

"Come on, Naruto, stop playing around. I know you want to screw me, so-"

He stopped abruptly when Naruto spread his cheeks away from each other. He felt his pucker stretch and the sensation made him shiver; then suddenly, he felt a wet warmth slide over it. His hands shot out in front of himself to brace against the wall.

Sasuke thought that Naruto would simply do something to benefit them both.

He never even entertained the idea that Naruto would do something so selfless and shocking.

* * *

Following Uzumaki Naruto, 3rd Person

He loved the way that Sasuke moved, moaned, and breathed.

He loved the way that Sasuke was stubborn, selfish, and so opposite from himself.

He loved the way that Sasuke felt different, tasted different, and smelled different depending on what Naruto was doing.

He loved the way the Sasuke was simply _perfect_.

Naruto wouldn't change anything about Sasuke, even the core of his body, a thing that was usually considered dirty and disgusting. But...this was Sasuke. It didn't matter. He wouldn't do this for _anyone _else.

He kissed the heady-smelling pucker and laved his tongue over it a few more times, coating it with his saliva. He felt the raven shudder at his touch and Sasuke spread his legs wider, probably involuntarily.

The skin was soft and tasted incredibly strange; he almost wanted to stop but the noised that Sasuke was making spurred him on. He continued to kiss and suck and lick at Sasuke's opening softly. But when Sasuke moaned, "Ah, Naruto...", he was quickly overcome by a needy lust and desire to pleasure Sasuke until he saw stars behind his eyelids.

He very nearly jabbed his tongue into Sasuke's passage after he placed his thumbs on either side and pulled it as far apart as it would go. Naruto wriggled his tongue around, and then slowly started to thrust in and out with his oral organ. He felt Sasuke's knees buckle at the sensation and he slipped an index finger inside of Sasuke alongside his tongue.

Naruto heard Sasuke whine and the raven began to grind back onto his face; Naruto felt Sasuke's body continuously jerking forward. The blond reached forward with his now unoccupied hand and felt Sasuke holding himself in a tight grip, pumping discreetly but furiously.

The blonde let his saliva run over the rest of his fingers and he thrust his middle finger into Sasuke's passage next to his index finger. He withdrew his tongue and stood up, much to Sasuke's obvious dismay. The raven groaned in protest as most of the warmth left his backside.

Naruto thrust a third finger into Sasuke and slapped away his hand from his erection. Instead, Naruto took hold of Sasuke's dripping cock and began to pump it slowly, matching the pace of his fingers that were pressing inside of Sasuke.

Sasuke's erection was already twitching; it swelled in his grip as he pressed his entire body against Sasuke's back. He removed his fingers from the tight grip of Sasuke's passage and positioned himself behind him, as he continued to fist Sasuke as a painfully slow pace.

Naruto gasped as Sasuke ground his body onto his dripping sex.

"Sasuke..." he moaned out loud. He leaned forward and spoke into Sasuke's ear: "I want you."

"Hnnn, m' too..." he said, his words garbled.

"Can I?" He asked. Naruto couldn't hold out much longer. He had already begun to press the head of his member to Sasuke's prepared hole before he received an answer.

"Yes," Sasuke said, his voice barely audible.

The water was rapidly beginning to cool.

Naruto sank in about halfway and pulled out again slowly. He could feel his saliva, wet and slippery on his cock, inside of Sasuke. He pressed back in just as slowly as the first thrust and he knew he rubbed against Sasuke's prostate when the raven clenched around him and he all but let out a low, tenor shriek.

Naruto squeezed Sasuke's member and then let go, trailing his fingers teasingly over the top of it. And Sasuke removed one hand from the wall and reached out behind him and tried to grip Naruto's leg, but he couldn't reach.

Naruto finally broke down and took pity on both Sasuke and himself; he sped up his thrusts into Sasuke. The front of his thighs and the back of Sasuke's slapped together, the sounds were squelched by the water that kept raining down on their skin.

He kept thrusting faster into Sasuke, trying to find his pleasure spot again. His breath was nearly taken away from him as the dark-eyed man began to desperately meet his thrusts. The look that Sasuke threw over his shoulder almost made him cry in pleasure.

The raven's eyes were heavily lidded, but the painful confusion and melting pleasure were obviously fighting in his mind. But the look only lasted for a mere moment, and his head had gone back to hanging in between his arms.

Naruto knew very well that this was likely to be temporary. The company, the sex, the arguments, the confusion. He knew very well that he was probably taking advantage of a weakened and emotionally unstable man. There was no doubt in his mind that even with these thoughts at hand, nothing would stop him from loving Sasuke for as long as he could.

He struck Sasuke's prostate again and the raven's knees buckled, but with the help of Naruto he stayed upright. And instead of risking either of them falling, Naruto pulled out and grabbed Sasuke, turned the man to face him, and kissed him solidly on the mouth. As soon as the kiss was commenced, it ended; and Naruto hoisted Sasuke into his arms and pressed him securely against the wall.

The raven-haired man wrapped his arms around Naruto's neck and his legs around his waist as the blonde plunged straight back into his pliant body. Naruto spread his legs for greater leverage and thrust as accurately as he could in their position. Sasuke hadn't seemed too pleased with the sudden movement, but he let out a cry as Naruto pulled all the way out and thrust back in to the hilt. Naruto aimed again and again at that angle and Sasuke began to quake all over.

Naruto pressed his body into Sasuke's as he gripped one of his hips and pressed his other hand to the wall by Sasuke's head. By now, Naruto's legs had begun to turn to jelly. He moaned at every thrust. He whined at every sound that he elicited from Sasuke's beautiful mouth.

_You're so beautiful..._

Sasuke's eyes were screwed shut it pleasure that Naruto knew he could hardly contain, because he himself was so close to the edge that he was in danger of collapsing.

The water was now nearly freezing on their backs.

"Mmmnn, Naruto, more," Sasuke breathed out. Naruto felt him squeeze down on his cock as his orgasm approached. He could barely hold himself, let alone Sasuke, up.

"Sasuke, I-" he began weakly. The cold water felt as if it was piercing his skin.

"-say it." his partner nearly begged.

But he came soon after that moment, and once again his seed seeped into Sasuke's passage. He kept thrusting as he rode out his orgasm, and as he caught his breath, he said,

"I love you, Sasuke," and Sasuke suddenly writhed in his arms and arched against the wall, cheeks flushed as he came.

They trembled against the wall, and then slowly sank to the floor of the tub. Naruto held Sasuke to his chest and turned off the water of the shower, and the icy cold water was no longer a nuisance.

The raven breathed laboriously and rested his head on Naruto's chest and they sat there in the tub for at least two minutes before either of them moved to get up.

"Sasuke, we should get some clothes on. You must be freezing."

"Hn," was his only reply, but the raven stood first and offered his hand to Naruto. Naruto took it and was helped to his feet by one of the most skilled men he had ever encountered.

But it was a dual concept—where Sasuke was strong, Naruto was weak. Where Naruto was strong, Sasuke was weak. And where they were confused, neither of them had a clue. And when they were scared, their own minds tricked them into more fear than was necessary.

It helped to know that no matter how dissimilar he was from Sasuke, that they were both only human and ultimately vulnerable to anything, whether it be physical or emotional.

They walked out of the bathroom, Sasuke's sheet forgotten on the tile as they made their way through the house to pick up the clothes that had been removed haphazardly the night before.

Naruto knew that Sasuke was completely obsessed with revenge, power, and the possibility of controllable, unwritten fate.

But what Naruto knew was that his fate had already been written for him.

* * *

Following Shizune, 3rd Person

She stood at his door, the dread a lead block in her gut.

There were no words to even begin explaining what was going to happen. There were no actions to help sooth the imminent anger and fear.

Her hand had been held in a fist, ready to knock, for a minute straight. Every time she made a move forward, she would rethink her actions and pull back. It was so difficult to be rational and follow the orders of an egotistical woman who followed her heart in favor of following her intellect.

Shizune knew that she was Tsunade's only connection to Dan. Being his niece, she knew a lot about him, but he had died before they had ever really had a chance to learn each others' ways. With Tsunade...well, she knew the woman inside out.

The same situation between her and Dan also applied to her and Naruto. Sure, she had known him for a few years now, but she was very far from knowing him. She had no idea what to expect. He was a fiery, obstinate, confrontational being, and the only thing that she was familiar with was his knack to complain about or disobey direct orders.

But Tsunade needed her. This was certainly _not_ the time to get worked up. She clutched the book to her bosom and took a deep breath as she collected herself and knocked four times on the door. She knew they had been quiet, but she desperately hoped that they had been heard.

She waited...

...And there was no answer at all. A frown overcame her features.

So she squared her shoulders and knocked again, considerably louder this time.

This time she heard footsteps padding quickly behind the door and she jumped up as the door swung open without any proper warnings.

In the doorway stood Naruto, shirtless, out of breath, hair mussed and dripping wet. His cheeks were flushed.

"Shizune?" He questioned, blinking in disbelief.

"Naruto-kun, we need to discuss something immediately."

"Um, okay. Come in." He stepped aside to allow her to walk past, his brows furrowed.

She stopped short only a few feet from the door when she caught sight of Sasuke, nonchalantly sitting at Naruto's kitchen table, looking positively disgusted with the bowl of what looked like ramen in front of him. He poked the noodles violently with his chopsticks and the broth sloshed over the side of the bowl.

She turned and gave Naruto an disapproving look that she hoped would mask her worry and her fear.

Naruto just smiled and gave her a thumbs up, gesturing that everything was okay.

But as she looked back at Sasuke, she realized that his hair was wet as well as Naruto's. She blushed at the assumptions that popped into her head but willed them away.

"So, uh..." Naruto ventured.

"Oh!" Shizune said with a wobble in her voice. "Well, actually..." her voice became small, like that of a frightened child. "...we have an emergency."

"An emergency? It sure doesn't seem like it." He folded his arms and gave her a calculating look and watched her as her grip on the book relaxed. She noticed that Sasuke had looked up from his bowl and proceeded to observe the conversation.

"Sit down, Naruto," she said in with a more confident tone to her voice.

"Shizune-san, can't you just spit it out? Whatever it is, it can't be _that _bad. It's not like ANBU came here. It's only you."

Shizune bristled and straightened up.

"I'll have you know that Tsunade-sama sent me here on direct orders, and I'll also have you know that you're the last one in my rounds that I needed to announce this to. So sit down and listen to me." She huffed out a breath of frustration. Her argument this morning with Tsunade was not helping her already frayed nerves.

In any case, Naruto grabbed a chair next to Sasuke and sat, waiting for her to start. She had the hunch that he _still_ was hesitant about taking her seriously.

"Well?" Sasuke asked amidst the awkward silence. "What's the horrible news?"

She glared at him, and he glared back.

Then she gathered herself, took a deep breath, and prepared to explain, for the fourth time, what kind of danger that Naruto was going to be sent into.


	5. Voyage for the Lost Part II

**A/N: **I listened to the Lion King: Broadway soundtrack as I wrote this. However...I admit that attempting to relive my childhood was not well-coupled with writing a mature story like this one. Oh well. At least this turned out pretty angsty.

**Disclaimer:** Is in the first chapter.

* * *

**Hopeless Passage, Part V:**

"Voyage For The Lost" _[Installment II]_

_Chapter Word Count: _5,480

_Chapter Rating: _**M **{For language and sexual references}

"_I'm trying to hold on, just waiting to hear your voice; one word, just a word will do to end this nightmare..."_ ~Elton John & Tim Rice, The Lion King

* * *

Following Shizune, 3rd Person

"_Well?" Sasuke asked amidst the awkward silence. "What's the horrible news?" _

_She glared at him, and he glared back._

_Then she gathered herself, took a deep breath, and prepared to explain, for the fourth time, what kind of danger that Naruto was going to be sent into._

"Suna is in danger, Naruto, and Gaara-sama has asked you to come to him and aid his ninjas." She expected even a simple statement as that would elicit a frightened or even concerned reaction, but Naruto only furrowed his eyebrows and frowned.

"Just...me?" the blonde inquired.

Shizune rolled her brown eyes as discreetly as she could, but Sasuke apparently noticed because he smirked and then..._smiled_ at his bowl of ramen. She shook her head but continued.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. You will be on a squad composed of yourself, Neji, Shikamaru, and Asuma-sensei."

"But why _them_? That seems like an odd group." Sasuke interjected.

"I would prefer if you would stay quiet, Uchiha Sasuke," she murmured warningly.

"And I would prefer it if you would cut to the chase, Miss-I-Think-I'm-Doing-The-Right-Thing." He stared at her coldly, but she couldn't tell if he had hidden any of that unrecognizable Uchiha jest in the sarcastic statement.

"Do you know how fast I could have you back in prison?" she threatened in an incredulous voice. How could a criminal such as he even _dare_ to speak up in the harrowing situation he had put himself in? Did he even understand what he was risking even by speaking in an ill manner towards a citizen of Konoha, nevertheless an attendant of Tsunade, the Hokage of the country. She was getting frustrated now; at every turn, she was either too nervous to continue or was being interrupted.

She could see that Sasuke was about to speak up once more, but Naruto elbowed his arm and the raven frowned, but did not say another word.

"Shizune, I'll ask what Sasuke just asked—why was I placed on such an odd team? Our abilities are so different, and I'm not sure that we'd be compatible in regards to that."

_When the hell did he become intelligent?_

"Naruto, I can answer almost any question, but I cannot answer that because I simply do not know. All I know about that part of this situation is that the Kazekage alerted the Hokage with an urgent problem that must be resolved or absolved, whichever is the easiest to achieve. Gaara-sama asked specifically for the four of you to travel to Suna as soon as you possibly can."

She watched as Naruto leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms out behind his head. He scratched the nape of his neck and finally relaxed.

"So...what exactly _is _this situation?"

She paused, unsure of how to start, even though she had run through this speech a few times before, each time garnering very isolated responses.

"Naruto...Suna, along with the Kazekage, are being terrorized by an unknown group of radical anarchists."

"All of the countries deal with threats, Shizune."

"This is much more significant than the scourges and "terrors" that you're used to dealing with. Don't you think that if this was simply a minor problem that Gaara-sama would have countered it?"

"I just don't understand."

"Apparently not. You don't understand because you're not _listening,_ Naruto. Children are being taken hostage. The medic-ninja's are now constantly kept from their patients. People are disappearing into the night," she ran her free hand through her hair. Naruto's face was gradually changing from confused to stunned to angry, but still she continued.

"The Hokage was only alerted about the condition of Suna early this morning. The Tower has been in a complete dither about the news." She looked down at the book that she continued to hold in her arm.

_If only I could open it..._

"If the threat is so great, then why didn't Gaara demand a complete force of Konoha ninja?"

"If I knew, I would tell you, Naruto. But Gaara is being held under some very distinct circumstances. This group of rogues are attempting to create some sort of treaty between themselves and Suna as a whole."

"I still don't understand how four of us could make any difference at all in this situation." he said in an increasingly frustrated voice.

"The Kazekage decided it, not me. I haven't the slightest idea why he chose the four of you, and to be quite honest with you, I do not agree with the tactics he has set up thus far. Don't shoot the messenger, Naruto."

Naruto stared up at Shizune from his chair and held her gaze for a few moments before speaking once more.

"I guess there's a lot that you're not aware of, Shizune."

Shizune straightened up in defense and huffed in indignant breath before trying to calm her frayed nerves and severe temper before it blew it's fiery breath in the face of one of the most-loved people of Tsunade.

"How can you say that? Just because I'm in cahoots with the Hokage doesn't magically put me in the position of all-knowing, prophetic glory! I can't tell you why Suna is under siege. I cannot tell you for how long. I cannot explain everything. I'm sorry if Gaara-sama's request for your immediate presence wasn't enough for you."

She really had considered throwing the book at the blonde, turning around, and storming out of his dusty, dingy apartment. But she held her ground as best as she possibly could. Sasuke's eyes were fixed on his face, and she had the sudden wish that the criminal was suddenly struck blind, so that he couldn't pierce her psyche like he seemed intent on doing.

Soon after her rant, Naruto had averted his eyes to the table, which he began to scrutinize intensely. His fingers fidgeted with each other, and he bit his lips incessantly. He was still staring at the table before he spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Shizune. I just...I just can't really handle all of this right now."

_What?  
_

"You can't _handle_ it?" She asked incredulously, utterly appalled at his reply.

"I can't leave Sasuke, Shizune," he was speaking as if the raven-haired man wasn't even in the room.

"You must, if you want to avoid intense questioning from both the Hokage and Kazekage." She wished that it was more of a scare tactic than truth—but if she didn't send who she was ordered to send, it would be _her_ position that would be compromised.

"That's something I can handle." He was still staring at the table. Shizune looked over at Sasuke, who had tentatively moved his hand to cover Naruto's. She blinked her eyes in surprise, somehow thinking that affection was an alien thing to Sasuke, but his hand was still holding Naruto's.

_Kami, what the hell is going on?_

"Naruto, I'm begging you. You have to travel to Suna. Please."

"No, Shizune, I can't. I'm not leaving him here alone to rot in prison or be killed."

"You have no choice, Naruto. That's final."

He suddenly snapped his head up and nearly snarled at her. "Don't you fucking tell me that I don't have a choice! I can do whatever I want!"

"Listen to yourself! You sound like a spoiled child, Naruto! You are under direct orders from the Hokage to aid Gaara and Suna. You are in no position to decline a command." Her words were harsh, but she knew she still sounded meek and submissive.

"This is one order that I _will _have to decline." The words were biting and had a tone of complete finality.

Shizune had the sinking feeling that the relationships all around her were crumbling. First Tsunade, then Naruto...who would be next today? How many more people would she yell at? How many more people would scream at her? How many more times today would she feel worthless and horrible?

This was one more failure that she could notch in her belt. She didn't even want to think about how to approach Tsunade—first the disappointment would come as a tsunami, and then anger as a tornado; and finally, an uncomfortable feeling in the eye of the storm.

Yet even though she knew that Tsunade would have her head, Naruto would be torn to pieces. She had to try again. She couldn't give up on this. She was much more stubborn than the young blonde.

* * *

Following Uzumaki Naruto, 3rd Person

He was so much more stubborn than her. He knew that for a fact. There was no way that she could convince him to relinquish precious time with Sasuke that the Hokage had allowed him.

He squeezed Sasuke's hand, and the older man squeezed back. He wasn't sure if Sasuke was reassuring him or attempting to chide him; either way, it didn't matter—Sasuke was in his apartment, next to him, touching him.

Even through his immense dislike for Sasuke, all he could feel through that cloud was love, lust, and the urge to protect him in any way possible, even though he knew very well that Sasuke could take care of himself without anyone's outside help.

"Naruto, please." Shizune appealed once more.

But Naruto knew that he had to keep being adamant about his answer if he wanted to protect Sasuke, even if it was merely for the two days that he was allowed.

"I refuse."

"Think about Gaara-sama. Think of how his people must be suffering."

"They have many great ninja, and so do we. One less person won't make any difference." He expected Shizune to stand down completely. She was an intellectual, melancholy woman; yes, she had her low-points as well, but she wasn't stupid. She knew when she had no chance.

But apparently she thought so, because she spoke up, challenging him again.

"Naruto, you _need _to go. You just refuse to let me explain everything! Sasuke's trial won't occur when you're on the mission. Tsunade assured me of that."

He blinked slowly. He surmised that he probably looked very foolish.

"You're lying."

"No, Naruto I can assure you with all of my sincerity that I am not lying to you. Desperate times call for desperate measures; the Elders are aware of this, and so is Tsunade."

"What if someone kills him in the prison?" He was extremely skeptical, and worried, and no amount of coaxing and reassuring words would help him.

"He will be confined to his own cell, with guards watching the other prisoner's actions. He will not be touched, Naruto-kun."

_How can you be so sure? You won't be there, directing their actions._

He tried so hard not to be rude. He had been rude enough to her in the short time she had been in his apartment. He knew he wasn't being fair, but he was doing all he could.

"I'm sorry, Shizune, but—"

"—Naruto, you have to go." Sasuke cut in to his sentence in a surprisingly quiet voice.

"What?"

He felt Shizune's eyes on them.

"You can't disregard an order. Just go help Gaara."

"Sasuke! How can you say that? You've gone against a ton of orders and laws!"

Naruto was in disbelief. All along, Naruto thought that Sasuke was gaining respect for him. He thought that maybe, _maybe_, that Sasuke felt the same need to stay at his side for however long he could.

"What _I_ have done in the past has nothing to do with _your _present." Sasuke's eyes bore into Naruto's, and the blonde knew that he was being completely and irrevocably serious. Naruto sighed in near defeat.

_Why is he doing this?_

"Do you _want _me to leave you here alone?" This was his last shot. If he couldn't convince Sasuke to change his mind, he would be forced out of pride to report to Tsunade and head off to Suna.

"Are you stupid, usuratonkachi? Of course I don't want to be alone here," he added, with a whisper so that Shizune couldn't hear, "And I don't want to be without you at this point."

"So...why?"

Sasuke removed his hand from Naruto's and folded his hands in his lap.

"Naruto, you have a chance to make a name for yourself. You want people to remember you, correct?"

Naruto only nodded in agreement; what else was he supposed to say, that he wanted everyone he had ever known to forget all about him? Of course not. Sasuke continued:

"I have made a name for myself already. But I am branded an antagonist, a killer, and cold-blooded. I'm no hero. Your team can be the hero. _You_ can be the hero."

"That doesn't matter to me, Sasuke," he argued weakly.

"If it truly doesn't matter, then go for my sake." Naruto watched Sasuke's hands tighten on themselves as his back went rigid.

"What are you—"

"Don't argue with me Naruto. Just don't. Go. They need you. And if what Shizune says is true, then I'll need you when you come back, safe and sound."

_He's beginning to sound kind of like a ornery woman..._

But nevertheless, he felt defeated. Sasuke was the only one who could ever reduce him to a feeling like this, especially since he was incredibly sated from this morning. He still felt a little lightheaded from the pleasure. So, to admit his defeat, he reached forward and ruffled the raven's hair, who jerked away at the unwanted contact and glared at the blonde. Naruto grinned anyways. This was the Sasuke he was used to.

He glanced at Shizune, who plausibly felt that she had all but been forgotten but the two men at the kitchen table.

"So, when do we leave?"

"As soon as you can. Your team is ready and waiting for you at the Tower as we speak."

"Okay. Can you...leave us alone for a moment?" He asked hopefully, hoping she would permit it.

"Sure," she smiled. "But ninja will be here to escort Sasuke back to prison very shortly." The warning ran clear in Naruto's head, and he nodded in acquiescence. Shizune turned around and started for the door, but she gasped suddenly and briskly turned and walked towards where Naruto and Sasuke were sitting.

She unceremoniously dropped the book on the table with a huff and said, "You need to make sure that Gaara-sama receives this book as soon as you see him in Suna."

He looked at it—it was only a simple book on the anatomy of frogs.

"...Why?" He was dumbfounded.

"I don't know. Just give it to him, okay?"

"Um...sure. I can do that."

Shizune nodded; she seemed flustered at the fact that she had almost forgotten something supposedly important; Naruto also assumed that she was equally uncomfortable with the barrage of questions that Naruto had pushed upon her. She made a hand sign and _poofed _out of the room.

They were alone once again.

* * *

Following Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, 3rd Person

Now that they were alone, they weren't sure what to do. They were silent for some time. It was not awkward, nor was it painstaking; it just existed, and Naruto knew that he himself was okay with that.

Apparently, Sasuke didn't have silence in mind.

"You know how we were supposed to talk last night?" He ventured.

"Mhmm," Naruto answered, a bit unwilling to begin another stressful conversation.

"I want to talk now." He said simply. His brain was actually in a complete tizzy of warped questions and fears and revelations that he had needed to get out for years.

"Then talk to me," Naruto's smile was a bit fake, "about whatever you want to."

"Don't do anything stupid, Naruto," Sasuke said seriously. Sasuke knew that Naruto did so many things without thinking, without calculating. He had seen it first hand as a child and as a teenager. There wasn't any doubt that Naruto was the same exact person that he was a couple of years ago.

"What would you consider to be stupid, baka?" Naruto frowned.

"Just about everything you do."

"Hey! That's not true."

"It is."

"Sasuke, why do you still think that I have the mentality of a child? I don't." Naruto didn't want to argue. He didn't want to fight. All he really wanted to do was to gather Sasuke into his arms, bring him to the couch, and sleep for a few hours. A nearby heartbeat would be enough. Soft breath on his chest or in his hair would be enough. Sasuke's presence would be enough.

"Naruto, I'm just worried about you." Sasuke knew he was going to kick himself for that.

"You? Worried about me?"

"Of course."

"That's pretty fucking hilarious considering that you wanted me dead by the time we were thirteen years old." He said it with jest in his voice, but Sasuke could tell that there was more meaning behind it than he had really intended.

Sasuke's initial smile faded as he spoke:

"I don't want you to die. I want you to come back for me."

Naruto lost all of the apparent happiness in his face; he could feel it as all of his muscles in his face relaxed and the rest of his body tensed up. But the truth was that he was dumbfounded and ecstatic at the same time.

There was a span of silence as Sasuke looked away awkwardly when Naruto continued to scrutinize him. Sasuke was not used to conveying his emotions at all. He had been conditioned against it as a child; his father was harsh and often appeared as if he hadn't a care in the world for Sasuke. Itachi had been the only one to show sincerity to him. And though he knew now that his brother had been justified in the slaughters that he committed, and that his brother had given him the gift that Itachi felt he needed to have in order to defeat him, he still felt as if he had been devoid of love for his entire life.

And Naruto knew that the one he loved was troubled. He could tell just by his body language, which was hard to decipher anyways. Ever since their battle with Haku, Naruto knew how much Sasuke meant to him. He knew that Sasuke would be forever cold, and he knew how to comfort Sasuke, even though the raven would almost always pull away from him.

"Sasuke, I'll come back," he whispered, "and I will be there for you when you go on trial."

"Like I said, don't do anything stupid."

"I promise." Naruto smiled when Sasuke looked up at him with a tender look on his face.

"Don't promise me. Promises are not always kept. Just tell me that you'll come back."

"All right, I don't promise. But I'll support you when I come back."

Naruto turned in his chair so that the fully faced Sasuke. His left hand came forward tentatively and he brushed his fingertips over the raven's cheek. To his surprise, Sasuke pressed his face into Naruto's open palm and sighed as his eyelids fell over his onyx eyes.

Naruto's heart swelled and he could barely contain his appreciation for Sasuke's simple action. Sasuke had been full of surprises over the past few hours.

"Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"Tell me that you love me."

Naruto paused, and then brought his other hand to Sasuke's other cheek and turned his head so that the older man could look at him. His thumbs brushed over Sasuke's cheekbones.

"I love you."

Sasuke gave a small smile in Naruto's direction and breathed out the breath that he had been holding in the anxiety that Naruto might have changed his mind about loving him.

"I have loved you for so long, Sasuke."

"How long?"

"Long enough. And I will love you while I am gone. And I will love you during your trial. And I will love you even after you die of old age."

"Naruto, they're going to kill me."

"Don't say that, Sasuke. Please don't say that." Naruto frowned and suddenly he felt a lump form in the center of his throat.

"I'm hated by the entire village. I'm a cold-blooded killer and betrayer in their eyes, just like my brother appeared to them. The Elders will spare no mercy. They never do, and I'm not an exception."

"They will let you live. I promise."

"I told you not to make any promises, Naruto..."

"I _promise _that you will live. And if that promise is broken, then I'm going with you." He said boldly.

"Don't be stupid. You're such an idiot. Naruto, don't ever say something like that. You just don't think, do you?"

"I may be an idiot, but I know how I feel."

"You obviously don't. You just offered to die with me. That's absolutely absurd, baka!" He pulled away from Naruto's hands and glared angrily.

But Naruto wouldn't have any of that.

"Sasuke, you've known for a fact that I'm willing to die for you. You've known it since our first mission. You've known it ever since I went after you the first time you ran away. You've known it since you came back. You've always been aware of it. Don't tell me to stop feeling what I feel. You don't even know the half of it."

"Naruto, I—" He paused as a loud barrage of knocks hit Naruto's door.

"Shit," Naruto said.

A voice came from the other side of the door:

"_Uzumaki Naruto, we have come to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke."_

Naruto wanted to ignore them so badly. Sasuke had the savage desire to go and simply kill all of the people behind the door. However, the door was locked, and there was no choice but for someone to answer it.

The younger of the two began to stand up from his chair to open the door for the ANBU ninja, but Sasuke suddenly gripped his bicep and pulled him back onto his chair.

"_Uzumaki Naruto, open the door immediately."_

"Sasuke, I have to—"

But Sasuke silenced him by jumping out of his seat, wrapping his arms around his shoulders, and burying his face into his neck. Naruto was caught so off guard that he didn't even think to hug Sasuke back; but soon he relaxed and he gripped the slightly smaller man to his chest, causing Sasuke to fall into his lap.

"Just wait," he said in a placid voice just slightly tinged with concern.

"Okay." It was all Naruto could say back. He suddenly felt the true gravity of the situation.

In that moment, even with the incessant and increasingly agitated knocks at the door, Naruto thought about so many of the moments that were poignant to him. Like when Sasuke had almost died. Like when he had held Tsunade in her time of need. Like when Sasuke had pleaded him to love him, and to make love to him.

He nestled Sasuke as close as humanly possible to his body; the man seemed to fit perfectly to his chest. He smelled his body, fresh from their shower. He had memorized this body. This body was his now, and he was Sasuke's. It burdened him to think to being with anyone else like that for as long as Sasuke was alive.

Sasuke shifted and he continuously willed those knocks at the door to go away. He knew that soon they would simply break open the door and take him by force. But he didn't care. He wanted to hold this man that he had come to care about. This man that loved him. This man that was going to leave him.

"It'll be okay," Naruto assured him. He wasn't going to even contemplate the idea of believing him. But he wanted Naruto to think that he was calm. Sasuke would be externally composed for the rest of his life. It was something that he forced himself to do.

"I know," he replied.

And ANBU knocked one last time before kicking open the door.

* * *

Following Tsunade-sama, 3rd Person

"Where the hell _is_ that brat?" She huffed as she paced in the large atrium where missions were most often given. She watched as Neji, Shikamaru, and Asuma stood patiently for Naruto to show up.

They had been waiting no longer than fifteen minutes for him; the three of them had arrived at the Tower within seconds of each other, and had stayed in the atrium while Shizune had gone to speak with their fourth team member. Fifteen minutes was not a large chunk of time, but nevertheless it made Tsunade increasingly nervous and agitated. Gaara-sama had requested that the team arrive as soon as possible. _This _was not as soon as possible.

"Shizune, you told him to come here, correct?"

"Of course I did, Hokage-sama!"

"Then where is he?"

Shizune fell silent. Tsunade assumed that the woman knew that no matter what she said, she would be wrong. Not that she blamed her for it. Tsunade knew that she was a exhibitionistic and rough individual.

The entire room became tense; or at least Tsunade was tense. The three men standing in front of her seemed to have different takes on the situation. Shikamaru was cool and calculating as ever. Tsunade got the feeling that he was just waiting for the perfect time to scrutinize her reckless behavior.

Asuma itched his thigh. He shifted a bit on his feet; he seemed the most troubled out of the three. But that was just part of his nature. Kurenai had just given birth to his child, and now he was being forced to take on another mission just one month after he had finished rehabilitation. The battle with Hidan had left him nearly dead.

The long-haired Hyuuga had his eyes lightly closed. Tsunade went back to the chair she had been sitting in before her outburst and sat down with an agitated huff. Neji had opened his eyes at the small disturbance and his frown became even more defined than before. His hands were folded behind his back, and he had remained silent the entire time.

Two more minutes had passed.

_How long does it take to just get here?_

She was about to voice her anger again when Shikamaru spoke up:

"Hokage-sama, I think it would be wise to calm down. Getting angry won't make the idiot get here faster." He shifted his weight to the other foot and folded his arms over his chest.

She knew very well that being mad wouldn't change a thing. But she had been very lenient with Naruto. The night before was a perfect example of that. Yes, the two had made a crucial connection and yes, her guilt and love for the blonde had gotten the better of her, but that didn't mean she would let his blatant disregard for her orders go unnoticed.

"Nara, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me get angered on my own terms."

"I would like to point out that you may be on your terms, but we are the ones preparing to go on a mission that is a prospective danger to our lives. It would be nice if the factor of ire was not present before we're sent out to Suna."

"Don't get smart with me, Shikamaru,"

"I already _am _smart, Hokage-sama."

She scoffed at him and his characteristic, subtle insolence and glared down at her desk. She knew she was being senseless, but she couldn't help it. She was sending Naruto on a mission that could take him away from her. This could be the last day that she would ever see him again. And then...

...she would be alone for the rest of her life. All those she had ever come to truly love would be gone. The village would forget about them, and they'd forget about Naruto, with time. Even the earth would lose consciousness of them when their bodies decomposed into the earth.

_Don't cry, _she urged herself. She wasn't looking up, but she felt four pairs of eyes burning holes into her head.

_Don't do it, you stupid woman! _But she felt the flow of tears was imminent. The desperate urge to wipe the tears before they came itched in her hands.

_Not in front of them..._

The tears fell, and she felt utterly hopeless. After Naruto was gone, he would most likely be _gone._

And even though she knew she could stop him from going, she didn't even dare.

* * *

Following Uchiha Sasuke, 3rd Person

_Fucking idiot assholes._

Sasuke was shoved roughly into an unoccupied, 7-by-7 cell. He stumbled and nearly fell at the unexpected force, and he let out a snarl over his shoulder at the two men who had touched him unnecessarily.

"Do you not understand it when I say, 'Don't have to touch me'? Or is the Hokage just really clueless when it comes to choosing prison-keepers?"

"Shut up, Uchiha. Do _you _not understand rules and regulations? We're trying to be safe, here." The man speaking folded his arms tightly over his chest as his partner roughly slammed the bars to Sasuke's cell closed. It clicked in place and locked both manually and with a closely-bonded chakra component.

"I wouldn't even think of causing...any issues." He said in a calm voice filled with a false sweetness.

"I'm sure. And you didn't even think of joining up with that snake, Orochimaru. Or joining a group hunted by Konoha and other countries. Or killing a _citizen_ of Konoha."

Sasuke's heart blazed in anger. They had no right to speak of his endeavors that way.

"You're such scum, you know that? The only reason you even _care _about my brother's death is because _now _you know that he had a true reason to annihilate my clan."

"He was still a citizen."

"He wasn't. Don't tell me that he was."

The guard paused, looked away from the cell (Sasuke assumed that he was looking out for eavesdroppers) and then leaned in close with a half-smile on his face. He looked disgusting to Sasuke. He wanted to do nothing more than spit in his face.

"Either way, there's one thing I'm sure of, pretty-boy."

"And what would that be?" The guard laughed heartily as he threw his head back and his yellowed teeth were flashed in an unnerving, gallant smile. Sasuke glared at this man, and he almost wished that the taller guard who had closed his cell was there. If anything were to happen, he would need evidence.

"I'm sure that you'll regret everything you did, once the inmates get a look at your face."

Sasuke's heart sank into his belly, and a nauseous feeling bubbled up into his throat.

_No, no, no..._

"I could kill you," Sasuke whispered warningly.

"You could be killed," The guard countered.

Sasuke didn't want to argue anymore. He wanted to be back in Naruto's dingy apartment, still sitting at his table discussing his anxieties. He wanted to be able to be weak. Here, that was impossible. Here, he had no choice but revert back quickly to his assassin-like self and become animalistic again. There was no other way but to be Uchiha Sasuke, rogue ninja. One of the most elusive, evasive and tough men to ever come out of Konoha. The last of his clan.

He would fight tooth and nail to keep his dignity. He would inflict any amount of pain to keep himself from feeling it. And he would kill again, and kill anyone, just to be able to see Naruto once more.

…..


End file.
